12And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great earthquake/every mountain and island moved
Though this earthquake is referred to as being great, it should not be confused with the quake which takes place at the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] bowl judgment, as they are two different quakes. I mention this because there are those who are believe and teach that the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments run simultaneously (1st seal, 1st trumpet, 1st bowl) and consider the quake here at the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] seal as being the same as the one that takes place at the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] bowl judgment and that because they both mention activity with the mountains and the islands. However, they are just two separate earthquakes. In fact there are multiple earthquakes mentioned throughout Revelation.
Here at the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] seal quake, it is stated that the mountains and islands are moved from their places with the word kineo metephorically meaning to be, “set in motion, stired, excited.” Basically the mountains and islands will be stirred in their places as a result from this quake, but they do not disappear as is the case with the quake at the 7th bowl judgment where the mountains and islands will not be found.
Sun becomes black like sackcloth, Moon turns blood red
The events of the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] seal were also prophesied by Isaiah and Joel:
“All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.” – Isaiah 34:4
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” – Joel 2:31
Regarding the sun being darkened and the moon appearing blood red, since this will be a result of God’s doing, I don’t believe that it will be due to natural causes where mankind will be able to predict these events, such as all of the predictions of the previous blood moons, which were due to natural causes. Simply put, the inhabitants of the earth will know that these events will be a result of God’s doing.
Stars of the sky fall to the earth
The first thing to understand is that, prior to the classification of cosmic bodies, everything in the heavens, except for the sun and moon of course, were considered to be stars, whether comets, asteroids or meteorites, to the ancients they were all stars. That said, we know that the reference here to “stars” cannot be referring to a star as we know it today, because most stars, like our sun, are much, much larger than the earth. Even if our own moon was to collide with the earth it would be completely destroyed, much less a star. Therefore, I believe that what Isaiah, Joel and John are describing could be meteorites or asteroids hitting the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, stars falling to the earth are mentioned a couple different times during the time of God’s wrath.
The sky receeded like a scroll being rolled up
Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne
Again, this event of the sky being rolled up like a scroll is also mentioned in Isaiah 34:4. Because of the response of the inhabitants calling for the mountains and the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne, it leads me to believe that the sky being rolled up like a scroll is opening up a window or portal into the heavenly realm, the dimension of heaven if you will, so that the inhabitants of earth will be able to see God sitting on His throne and which is the reason why they are terrified, wanting to get out of His line of sight by having the mountains and the rocks fall on them.
For the great day of their wrath has come and who can endure it
The verse above is the major reason as to why many expositors place God’s wrath as beginning after the announcement and thereby exclude the previous seals as belonging to God’s wrath.
The words in the verse “has come” are in the Greek aorist tense which is announcing God’s wrath in its entirety, which includes the seals which will have previously taken place, as well as the trumpets and bowl judgments that are to follow.
http://christianchat.com/blogs/ahwatukee/
15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Great Earthquake
- Sun becomes black like sackcloth of hair, moon turns blood red
- Stars of the sky fall to the earth
- Sky recedes like a scroll being rolled up
- Mountains and Islands moved from their places
- Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne
- For the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand
Great earthquake/every mountain and island moved
Though this earthquake is referred to as being great, it should not be confused with the quake which takes place at the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] bowl judgment, as they are two different quakes. I mention this because there are those who are believe and teach that the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments run simultaneously (1st seal, 1st trumpet, 1st bowl) and consider the quake here at the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] seal as being the same as the one that takes place at the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] bowl judgment and that because they both mention activity with the mountains and the islands. However, they are just two separate earthquakes. In fact there are multiple earthquakes mentioned throughout Revelation.
Here at the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] seal quake, it is stated that the mountains and islands are moved from their places with the word kineo metephorically meaning to be, “set in motion, stired, excited.” Basically the mountains and islands will be stirred in their places as a result from this quake, but they do not disappear as is the case with the quake at the 7th bowl judgment where the mountains and islands will not be found.
Sun becomes black like sackcloth, Moon turns blood red
The events of the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] seal were also prophesied by Isaiah and Joel:
“All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.” – Isaiah 34:4
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” – Joel 2:31
Regarding the sun being darkened and the moon appearing blood red, since this will be a result of God’s doing, I don’t believe that it will be due to natural causes where mankind will be able to predict these events, such as all of the predictions of the previous blood moons, which were due to natural causes. Simply put, the inhabitants of the earth will know that these events will be a result of God’s doing.
Stars of the sky fall to the earth
The first thing to understand is that, prior to the classification of cosmic bodies, everything in the heavens, except for the sun and moon of course, were considered to be stars, whether comets, asteroids or meteorites, to the ancients they were all stars. That said, we know that the reference here to “stars” cannot be referring to a star as we know it today, because most stars, like our sun, are much, much larger than the earth. Even if our own moon was to collide with the earth it would be completely destroyed, much less a star. Therefore, I believe that what Isaiah, Joel and John are describing could be meteorites or asteroids hitting the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, stars falling to the earth are mentioned a couple different times during the time of God’s wrath.
The sky receeded like a scroll being rolled up
Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne
Again, this event of the sky being rolled up like a scroll is also mentioned in Isaiah 34:4. Because of the response of the inhabitants calling for the mountains and the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne, it leads me to believe that the sky being rolled up like a scroll is opening up a window or portal into the heavenly realm, the dimension of heaven if you will, so that the inhabitants of earth will be able to see God sitting on His throne and which is the reason why they are terrified, wanting to get out of His line of sight by having the mountains and the rocks fall on them.
For the great day of their wrath has come and who can endure it
The verse above is the major reason as to why many expositors place God’s wrath as beginning after the announcement and thereby exclude the previous seals as belonging to God’s wrath.
The words in the verse “has come” are in the Greek aorist tense which is announcing God’s wrath in its entirety, which includes the seals which will have previously taken place, as well as the trumpets and bowl judgments that are to follow.
- 1st Seal - Revealing of the antichrist
- 2nd Seal - Peace removed so that people kill each other
- 3rd Seal - World-Wide famine
- 4th Seal - A fourth of the earth's population is killed
- 5th Seal - Martyr's under the altar in heaven
- 6th Seal - Earthquake, sun darkened, moon to blood
http://christianchat.com/blogs/ahwatukee/