The sixth seal. A powerful earthquake. The sun turned black. The full moon turned red as blood. The stars fell from the sky. There is a growing intensity in what John was trying to portray. Be assured that no matter how much we have experienced the Lord there is more.
Each of the souls was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until all their coworkers would be killed as they had been killed. It is 2000 years since John had these visions, still people are dying for their faith. God is counting those martyrs!
"How long before you judge and take revenge on those on earth who shed our blood?" Paul reminds us that we should not take revenge, but leave that to God. Do you find that hard to do? He calls us to be "in the world but not of the world"!
The fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of God's word and the testimony they had given about him. If you were in a situation where you could possibly die just because you follow Jesus, would your faith be strong enough?
Revelation 6:1-7 As we read those those verses again, spend some time thinking about the 4 horsemen. How much do you think things would change if every Christian did what Jesus calls us to do? He promised that those of us who stand firm to the end will be saved.
The fourth seal, a pale horse, its rider's name was Death. Hell followed. They were given power over 1/4 of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and wild animals. Are you afraid to die? Do you think a quarter of the earth are dying from Covid 19?
The third seal, a black horse, its rider held a scale. A quart of wheat or three quarts of barley for a day's pay. But do not damage the olive oil and wine. Those who don't know Jesus will suffer from famine, but those who believe in Jesus will not.
Be still! As they try to waken the future Saviour of the world they ask "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"!! What a question to ask the one who came to save the world! But they didn't yet know Him as Saviour, for them He was just a teacher!
The time is coming when people who murder you will think that they are serving God. World history has terrible stories about people being killed for their faith and even christians killing other christians because they disagree on points of theology! Remember that "my peace will be with you" (John 16:33).
So he was given a large sword. The sword represents war and many deaths. Do we really understand the way that the enemy (the devil) is taking over our world, and has been trying to do so since the beginning? Thankfully that is not the end of the story.
EN
FR