The Wrath of the Lamb

What’s your worst nightmare scenario? Going broke? Loosing your family? Becoming homeless? What’s your worst nightmare scenario? When we were young parents, one of our nightmare scenarios was losing one of our daughters while out shopping or having one of them abducted by strangers. I think that’s a fear every parent has. One of my nightmare scenarios is being in a lake and falling out of a boat and not being able to make it back to shore. I’m sure you have some nightmare scenarios too. Like being caught in a mass shooting or getting violently ill on an airplane or finding yourself caught up in a zombie apocalypse.

And I’m sure many of you have experienced a nightmare scenario or two. Like the death of a loved one, surviving a horrible accident, or having your house foreclosed. When you stop to think about it, there are all kinds of nightmare scenarios we could face in this life. But today I want to address the one nightmare scenario that you don’t want to face. The great day of God’s Wrath. It’s a day you want to avoid if at all possible. Because if you are around on that day, and you don’t know Jesus, it’s going to make your worst nightmare look like a picnic in the park. And that day is revealed to us in our passage this morning in Revelation 6:9-17, where Jesus opens the fifth and six seals of the scroll that reveals God’s judgment on sinful and rebellious world.

Now, I realize that we live in a time when very few people talk about God’s wrath or a coming day of judgment. In fact, many people today don’t believe God will judge them in the future. They say, “Even if God were to come to our world today, He would accept me as I am because He is a loving God.” And the reason they believe this way, is that most people suppress the truth about God’s holiness and justice.

They don’t understand that God is a holy and just God. They don’t understand that God cannot tolerate or condone sin without compromising His own holiness and justice. They don’t understand that God’s wrath is a righteous response to sin, ensuring His justice and reflecting His love for what is good. So, defining God without understanding His holy and just nature, many people continue going about their days thinking that they’re somehow immune from God’s wrath.

But that’s a dangerous way to think, as our passage is about to show us. For as Jesus opens the fifth and sixth seals, a question will be asked about the coming day of God’s judgment and the wrath of the Lamb. And that question is this: “the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

But before we that question is asked, Jesus opens The Fifth Seal: And as he does, we are given a glimpse of those who had been martyred for Jesus. And the first thing we see is why they were martyred: The cause of the martyrs: When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. Revelation 6:9 These are Christ followers who we slain because they would not renounce God’s revelation about Jesus as Lord and Savior, and because they openly shared the good news of Jesus with others. They would not renounce Jesus.

On December 2, 2014, the Christian Post carried a story titled, “Vicar of Baghdad: Four Iraqi Christian Kids Beheaded After Refusing to Convert to Islam.” That story contained the following: “Four Iraqi Christian children, refused to betray Jesus and graciously died in his name when ISIS militants gave them one last chance to say the Islamic words of conversion. When the kids refused to say that they would follow the Prophet Muhammad and told the ISIS fighters that they will always “love” and “follow” Jesus…. ”ISIS said to the children, “you say the words that you will follow Muhammed.” The children, all under 15, four of them, they said, “No, we love Yashua (Jesus). We have always loved Yashua. We have always followed Yashua. Yashua has always been with us,” “The Militants then said, “Say the words!” The children said “No, we can’t do that.” And with that, they chopped all their heads off. They would not renounce Jesus and were slain as martyrs for Christ.

The basic meaning of the Greek word for martyr is “witness.” These children and those seen under the altar all died because of their testimony for Jesus. The sacrifice made by these martyrs is reflected in the symbolic location where John “saw” their souls: “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain” (Rev. 6:9). When sacrifices were offered in the Old Testament temple, the blood of the victims streamed down the side of the altar and pooled at its base. This is a strong symbol for us. The martyr’s deaths are so closely associated with Christ’s sacrificial death that their blood is pictured as flowing down His altar. They were sacrificed for their witness of Christ.

The reality of their cause hits close to home. Since we are all saved by the gospel and are called to bear witness of Jesus, by definition we are all martyrs. Which means none of us are exempt from suffering. Which means it is possible that you and I could suffer the same fate. Under this altar are those who were faithful to the cause of Christ. But their witness doesn’t end with this picture. Next, we see…

The cry of the martyrs: They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:10 This is the only prayer of supplication in Revelation. It is short and simple. The martyrs cry out over the continued slaughter of the saints on earth. They are not complaining only about their sufferings but are crying for the injustice inflicted on fellow believers. This is a strong reminder, that we too, ought to be praying for persecuted Christians. For example, here’s the story of Yacouba Odineneka, a government worker, who has survived multiple Islamist attacks:

He says, “After the terrorist attacks, I realized that I was changed. I became nervous. Sometimes I could be sitting alone and talking to myself.” Because of these attacks he was struggling to sleep at night. During one attack, Islamic terrorists murdered an elder at Yacouba’s church and abducted his pastor. They held the pastor hostage for several days before finally killing him. Yacouba found his body, along with those of several others who had been killed and buried them. In another attack, Yacouba and two of his children were held hostage in their own home by two extremists. Yacouba thought they were going to kill him and his children, but the Islamists eventually left, presumably annoyed by the screaming of Yacouba’s infant child. Later, Yacouba was invited to a gathering of other Christians to hear how God can heal inner wounds. As he listened, he realized that both he and his wife were suffering from trauma. He recalls one specific teaching that helped him see the depth of his problem. “For me, it was the lesson on forgiveness,” he said. “Because of what I went through, it was very difficult for me to forgive.” But through the study of God’s Word, he came to realize that God’s forgiveness of his sins must lead to his own forgiveness of others. “I was able to forgive some people and to let some things go out of my heart,” he said.

So, yes, we need to be praying for the persecuted Church. And this summer, we will pray each Sunday for the persecuted church. We will pray for Christians suffering in Nigeria, North Korea, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen and Vietnam, and others. We need to join with the prayers of the saints under the altar and ask God, “How long before He judges and avenges the blood of His people.” So how long will that be? Well, that’s what we see next as John describes for us…

The condition of the martyrs: Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. Revelation 6:11 Immediately we see God’s care for these martyrs. They are given a white robe, again a strong symbol of how God dresses His people with the righteousness of Christ. But it is also the color of victory. The martyrs appear to have been defeated by their enemies, but they are actually given victory by God. Here are the conquerors who remained faithful to death. God honors them with white robes. And then…

He also tells them to rest. “Rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ.” Rest in the presence of the Lamb. Rest in the knowledge that God will bring about justice in His time. Renowned Theologian Grant Osborne helps us here. He says, “The emphasis is on divine sovereignty. God knows each one who is to be martyred, and will vindicate them all at the proper time, which will be soon.”

This is a good reminder to us. When we see all the evil against Christians in our world today, we need to learn to rest in God’s sovereignty. We need to rest in the knowledge that God knows what is happening and will one day, pour our His justice on this world. Until then, we need to remember how God calls us to live in the face of evil: Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink… Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:19-21 The wrath of the Lamb is coming. But until that day, God wants us to rest in His sovereignty trusting He will avenge injustice and do our part by overcoming evil with good.

And with that, we come to The Sixth Seal, where God answers the prayers of the slain, with the arrival of The Great Day of Wrath: 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. Revelation 6:12-14

Here now John describes six catastrophes that make our worst nightmare seem like a picnic. Most scholars see a connection between the first three catastrophes: “there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood” Zechariah 14:4 tells us that when the Messiah comes, “On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.” The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley. So that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. Cosmic upheaval also impairs the light of the sun so that it is darkened like a dark cloth made from goat’s hair and worn in times of mourning.

Some speculate that worldwide earthquakes will produce catastrophic volcanic activity spewing ash and smoke throughout the atmosphere, which will cause the darkening of the sun and the reddening of the moon. In the summer of 2022 Oregon had such horrific fires that the sun was blotted out. In the Great Day of Wrath, things will be much worse.

Here the entire earth that comes under judgment. The sun’s being described as black as sackcloth adds the idea of humiliation and mourning. The blood-colored moon signified pending calamity in divine judgment. People will experience a living nightmare. But it will get worse In Revelation 6:13 we see that “and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. This image strikes terror into the hearts of every human. Jesus predicted this saying, “there will be terrors and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11). Robert Mounce says that “the falling of stars, could only mean but one thing to the people of this day: the end had come.”

But it gets even worse. Next: “The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up” Whether the sky is broken in the center to roll back both ways or rolled up from one end to another, all we know is that there will be a total cosmic meltdown. The wrath of the Lamb has come. And on that day NO ONE will be in doubt as to what is happening and WHO is bringing all of this about.

Finally, the objects that symbolized permanence for centuries: mountains and islands, are removed from their places. No more Rocky Mountains. No more Sierra Nevada’s. No More Everest. No more Kilimanjaro. No more Hawaii or the Camen Islands, or any cruises with Kimo – all gone. This is the worst-case nightmare scenario. Peter describes this day of wrath: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:10

David Chilton summarizes the wrath of God on all creation by saying: “Just as the salvation of Gods’ people is spoken of in terms of creation… so God’s judgments are spoken of in terms of de-creation, the collapse of the universe – God ripping apart and dissolving the fabric of creation.” This is the ultimate nightmare scenario. And you don’t want to be around when this comes done. But there will be people here on the great day of wrath. How will they respond to God’s judgments at that time?

That’s what we see next: The Dismay of Mankind: 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, Revelation 6:15

Here, John sees six categories of condemned mankind who experience the great day of wrath. They include every class of society. First are “the kings”, who are identified in Psalm 2 as those who “set themselves… against the Lord and against His Anointed.” Together with them are their deputies, “the great ones,” the princes or cabinet members who shared in the earth’s ungodly rule. They’re joined by “the generals,” who enjoyed martial glory but now face divine wrath.

Among them are “The rich,” people like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet who often exert more influence than kings or presidents. They will face judgment, together with “the powerful.” These are the ones who ran the world in its rebellion to God. Added to them: everyone else- “the slave and free,” the upper and lower classes. All revealing to us one dreadful fact of the day of God’s wrath: No one will be excluded from the great day of wrath. Those who normally get special treatment will get none. Their sense of status and privilege will vanish… in an instant. On that day, all earthly status and privilege will count for nothing. Not one person will escape THE WRATH OF THE LAMB!

So, if no one can escape the wrath of the Lamb, how does the human race respond? First, they run rather than repent. Look how their fear turns them into irrational fugitives. They “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” Revelation 6:16

But they won’t just flee, they will hide in fear. And their fear will be all consuming. They will find death preferable than to face Him who is seated on the throne. Like Adam and Eve fleeing from God in the Garden after they sinned, the human race will be unified in their desire to avoid the face of their Creator, against whom they had so viciously rebelled. They fear the judgment of His wrath. They don’t want to see His face.
This then is mankind’s nightmare scenario. What they fear most is not death, but the enthroned Creator and the Lamb of God, who offered them salvation, but whom they spurned and rejected. Now there’s nowhere for them to hide. Completely dismayed all mankind cries out in despair, “who can stand?”

Who can stand and face the wrath of the Lamb? For those of us who have trusted in the Lamb for salvation, we know we have been spared from His wrath. For we have believed God poured out HIs wrath on His Son who became sin for us on the cross. So, we don’t have to worry about that question. We’ve been saved from God’s wrath by Jesus.
But for all who have rebelled and rejected God’s offer of salvation, there will be nowhere to stand, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. No one who has rejected God’s offer of mercy in Jesus will be able to stand before God’s wrath.

So then, who can stand on the day of Gods’ wrath? The answer is given to us in Revelation 7, which shows the great host of the redeemed in heaven, who believed the gospel, who confessed their need for forgiveness, and who embraced Jesus as their Savior. Only the redeemed of the Lamb can stand when the day of judgment comes.

Will you be able to stand? Or will you have to face your worst nightmare: the wrath of the Lamb? You see, God’s Word is truth. And God is true. There is coming a day when He will judge this world. A day when this world ends: There will be a great earthquake, and the sun will become black, the moon will become like blood, the stars will fall from the heavens, the sky will vanish like a scroll and every mountain and island will be removed… there will be no place to run or hide when that day comes. And there will be no more opportunity to repent and run into the arms of Jesus. You don’t want to be there on that day.

However, we still live in a day where mercy can be found. And it’s found in the Lamb of God who died for your sins and mine. That’s why this day is called the day of salvation. For today, if anyone turns from their sins and turns to Jesus and calls on His name, you will be saved from the wrath to come. That’s good news. And if that’s where you find yourself today, let me encourage you not to wait, but to run into the arms of the Lamb. Put your trust in Jesus. Call on His name by faith and you will be saved.