[Notes for Sunday Sermon – 2/15/2015]
Psalm 144 – Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!
I. Review 6:1 – 8
Revelation 6:1 – 8; The Triumphant Lamb Opens The Seals
– The opening of the seals lead into the key theme of the book, the opening of the scroll that contains the divine plan for ending the present world order that is under the power of sin.
– We will observe the sinfulness and depravity of the human race apart from Christ (earth dwellers). “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The hardness of peoples’ hearts, the judgments of God and His outpoured wrath clearly reveal what sin actually produces.
– The sovereignty of God will particularly be emphasized. Only God allows the judgments to come that will bring his goal and purpose in redemption to full fruition. We must keep in mind that God is in control.
“By revealing his anger against the world’s sin he both serves notice on oppressors and mercifully prevents us from becoming too comfortable with a world system destined to pass away (1 John 2:15 – 17). God is sovereign in history, even over sufferings; they are the seals, the marks of divine witness to the veracity of his promises” (Keener).
– The Four Horsemen – First Four Seals:
1. White – Conquest
2. Red – War
3. Black – Famine (Do not harm the oil and wine)
4. Pale Green – Death & Hades
II. Fifth Seal – The Cry of the Martyrs; 9 – 11
– God’s people are not to be surprised by persecution. If we truly belong to Jesus Christ, we will be treated as He was treated. He says to each of us, “take up your cross and follow Me.” Peter said: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:12 – 14; NKJV).
– The cry for vindication and the hopes of the Martyrs are revealed in the sixth seal. This seal is “proleptic.”
Proleptic (prolepsis): “Anticipation.” The representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished.
III. Sixth Seal – The Wrath of God Revealed From Heaven 6:12 – 17
“We must understand that God’s anger is directed at sin. Many scholars have reacted to the concept of ‘wrath’ in the book of Revelation as if it contradicted divine love and the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God . . . However, this is due to their disregarding the terrible nature of sin” (Osborne).
– The Day of the LORD
The “Day of the LORD” is a particular day/time in history (an historic act) when God decisively acts in the affairs of mankind to judge and redeem. The term is often used in reference to God’s judgment and wrath as He and/or His people are vindicated and the unrighteous reap what they sow. In this crisis moment God is glorified in salvation through judgment (see 2 Thessalonians 1:5 – 10).
1. Isaiah 2:1 – 5; 2:20 – 22
2. Hosea 10:8
3. Zephaniah 1:14 – 16; “The Great Day of the LORD.”
4. Malachi 4:1, 5
5. Joel 2:28 – 32
0 Comments