Revelation 6:9-17 - Who is Able to Stand?

Revelation 6:9-17

Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs

9 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 testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances

12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The fifth and sixth seals of the scroll that only the Lamb of God could open in heaven were witnessed by the beloved disciple and apostle John when transported in the spirit to stand before the Lord.  Who is able to stand before the Almighty unless brought to Him by Him?  The fifth seal broken revealed what would come as those slain over the centuries for holding faithfully fast to the word of God and the testimony of His grace in Christ through the gospel as the prophets of old had anticipated.  These cried out with a loud shout to the ears of the Lord asking Him how much longer they would have to wait until justice brought vengeance on their persecutors who opposed them because they stood for God and His word in obedience to the death (Matthew 24:12-13, Revelation 2:10) as Christ the Lamb of God had done for them (Philippians 2:8).  These looked for divine justice to be revealed and those opposed to the Lord to answer for their disobedience shown in how they treated the faithful people of God who suffered for His name’s sake.  They were seen to be given white robes to symbolize their purification in the Lord and told to rest a while and wait patiently until the return of the Lord to earth and the rest of the martyrs were added to their number before the final judgment of the Lord’s vengeance on sin was accomplished at last.  Then John observed the sixth seal being shattered by the divine Lamb of God as the earth experienced the shattering of earthquakes and darkness in the heavens above.  The people who were not the Lord’s were terrified.  These cried out and desired to be buried under the crumbling creation as they faced their judgment with dread and attempted to hide in utter futility.  They observed the moon turn red as blood signifying their accountability for shedding the blood of the faithful revealed in the previous opened seal and how the very stars of the universe above fell from their appointed places to the earth in a cosmic display of the end of all things.  Even the sky over their heads appeared to be rolled up as the scroll which held the details of this event written from eternity on that account to be opened only by the Lamb.  In Matthew 24:29, Jesus had already given this account of what was to come but it fell on deaf ears, yet some must have recalled Matthew 24:30, 31 where He told us that He would be seen as the Son of Man come in judgment and would gather His chosen elect to Himself out of that judgment, the ones who had previously believed and received Him and His word of the gospel of grace to righteousness in Him for eternal security, safe and secure from these cosmic alarms of the end of all things as we see them now in preparation for the new heavens and earth to follow.  Those who do not so know and confess the Son of God will only be able to do as shown in this future event to John, they will try futilely to hide from His wrath of judgment when only the Son can take away that wrath on their sin by His merciful grace.  Nobody can hide from the One true God on His sovereign throne in heaven or from the wrath of the Lamb’s vengeance for disobedience and disbelief in all He told us.  When that great day of vengeance and judgment comes, the question remains, “Who is able to stand?”  We know from His word of the gospel of Jesus Christ that only those found in Him are able to stand firmly and with full assurance to and through the judgment of the end (2 Thessalonians 2:15, 1 Peter 4:7) as we remain vigilant in prayer and valiant for the truth.  As it is written in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 for we who do now stand and with absolute certainty will stand in and through the judgment by the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.”  Amen.