The Birth Pains
Notes
Transcript
God has a sense of humor
God has a sense of humor
I understand why pastors don’t want to teach Revelation
First 5 chapters make you forget about the gauntlet coming
However tonight I will tell do my best say what the text says and leave the rest to you
Matt 24, is key to my understanding of Rev 6 onward
As we begin, we are still in the throne room vision
Jesus was the only capable being of completing the mission of God and bringing about the summation of time into eternity
Last week we had a scroll with 7 seals in the hand of the Father
This week the scroll is being opened, seal by seal
These scrolls seem to be Gods way of judging the world for rejecting the Savior and yet at the same time perfecting his people in the tribulation times.( 4 horsemen)
Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
Jesus opens the first seal and one of the living creatures calls for this rider on white horse to come forward
Amazing description- voice like thunder- powerful beings but still unworthy to open the scroll
-The rider on the white horse is given a crown and he came out conquering and to conquer
-He has been mistakenly viewed to be Jesus but make no doubt Jesus rides the white horse in Rev 19 and his name is clearly marked Faithful and true
-It most likely this is messianic pretender or fake of some kind but dont forget he is summoned by Jesus and given a short leash and specific job
-Conquering and to conquer
And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.
Jesus tells his disciples this is coming
Many came in the 7 churches time in Asia Minor, many more have come since
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
The opening of the 2nd seal brings out the 2nd horsemen who is bright red
What we see here is that this rider was permitted to take peace from the world and leave it broken and vengeful
He will wage war with his sword and
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
The ancient world was well aware of the ravages of war
Farms stolen or destroyed, invading armies, and pure chaos
Im reminded of Shermans march through the South which decimated cities and almost beyond repair
Go look at any war torn country- its in shambles
Hopelessness lives strong because peace cannot be found
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
Conquest, Warfare, and now Famine arrives with the 3rd seal
-Black horse and rider with scales in his hands
Vs 6- a days wage will needed to buy two handfuls of wheat and a little more of barley
-6-8x times typically price
“Dont harm the wine or oil”- Im not absolutely sure about this
-Scholars have said its to show that this will effect the common people more so than the rich
-the can still buy oil and wine
-My thought is what good is oil or wine if you basic food cost is too much to afford but who am I
It appears these seals build upon each other
Conquest leads to warfare, warfare leads to famine, famine leads to death
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
Seems as if the 4th horseman, Death, sums the previous 3 together
Jesus speaks about all of this in Matt 24:4-9
And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.
What Rev 6 tells us that Jesus is control of history and it appears to be that this represents the flow of history leading up the great Day of Lord
We have seen these type of things all throughout human history and so had the 7 churches which is symbolic of the church of God universal
God allows these things to come upon humanity as punishment for sin and for perfecting his people and creating in them a homesickness and perseverance as Paul describes
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
Lets remember Christ calls this the birth pains
Why does someone have birth pains? because a baby is coming
Its not a chance but its coming-many a mamas have grabbed daddys by the arm and said its nnnooooowwwww......
There is a certainty to the finality
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. 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?” 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.
Scenes change with the 5 seal- we find an altar and beneath it are the souls of the martyrs who are crying out for God to bring finality
They know the Faithful and true judge will do right, they too have been given a just heart to want the things of God to be finished
One day, you and I will want Gods justice to be complete and desire his glory, regardless of who the offender is
I think we have a glimpse of that here as the martyrs await Gods final judgement, the eradication of sin and unfolding of eternity
Something we need to look at is why these people have been killed anyways? for doing nothing but loving God and bear witness to Gods word
Many in the 7 churches have had that same outcome and millions more throughout history
Of which the 20th century has been the bloodiest of all centuries for Christian martyrs
With this seal, Jesus reminds the 7 churches and ultimately us, that believers are to persevere and no matter what comes on the believer that God works all things for our good
Persecution is the real light of Romans 8:28-29
We live in day and time that is becoming like the early church
You could be like Rome and have numerous gods just dont limit them and say there are wrong
You can live as immorally as you want and it doesnt matter because your happiness is all that matter
One of the great ironies of this life is the fact that humans find so many ways to treat evil as though it is good and good as though it is evil. Some people agitate for wickedness—they are activists for God-despising, humanity-destroying, depression-causing activities such as legalized abortion, legalized marijuana, legalized child pornography, and homosexual “marriage”—and these people are viewed by the media and the culture as champions of virtue.
Meanwhile, people who testify to God’s truth—those who seek to win others to embrace the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and experience the liberating freedom of living according to Biblical morality—are viewed as unloving, negative hate-mongers who should be ashamed of themselves. We must resist the slow creep of the culture’s conclusion that it is wrong to tell people the gospel, wrong to testify to God’s truth.
The culture has not only called good evil and evil good, it has also succeeded in making this seem normal. The result is that if we are not careful, we will feel that the right thing to do is keep our mouths shut. We have to soak our minds in the Bible so that we know that the loving thing to do is speak the gospel and testify to the word of God. If we don’t do that, we are basically saying to people, “I don’t care if you go to Hell.”
Hamilton, J. M., Jr. (2012). Preaching the Word: Revelation—The Spirit Speaks to the Churches. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 182). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
As the Seals are opened, the birth pains became more intense, and Gods calendar seems to be marked off by the blood of his saints- not to harm them or quite possibly us- but to leave us perfected
Bangladesh believer- I know my faith in Jesus will cause me to die
Ask the believer in NK or Afghan or China
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
He didnt use a the word cross because it was cute or clique’ but because everyone knew it was a weapon torture and death
I believe the time between the first and second comings of Christ are clearly seen in this chapter
Society isnt improving- its continually failing
Utopia isnt possible- but the Gospel truth of salvation is
What should matter most to the 7 churches and us is our faithfulness to God
Pilgrims Progress- Doubting Castle and Giant Despair- the key to unlocking their prison was remembering the promises of God
May we be faithful and many other have before us
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. 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, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
By the time we get to the 6th seal, we see more unrest and what looks to be beginning of the end
The Book of Revelation The Sixth Seal: God Will Demonstrate His Justice by Executing the Final Judgment on the Unbelieving World (6:12–17)
The judgment of the world is depicted with stock-in-trade OT imagery for the dissolution of the cosmos. This portrayal is based on a mosaic of OT passages that are brought together because of the cosmic metaphors of judgment that they have in common. The quarry of texts from which the description has been drawn is composed primarily of Isa. 13:10–13; 24:1–6, 19–23; 34:4; Ezek. 32:6–8; Joel 2:10, 30–31; 3:15–16; and Hab. 3:6–11 (cf. secondarily Amos 8:8–9; Jer. 4:23–28; and Ps. 68:7–8). The same OT texts are also influential in Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24–25; and Acts 2:19–20 (= Joel 2:30–31), which themselves likewise form part of the apocalyptic quarry influencing the dramatic portrayal in Rev. 6:12–14 (Test. Mos. 10:3–6 and 4 Ezra 5:4–8 [cf. 7:39–40] stand in the same OT tradition). All these passages mention at least four of the following elements, which are found here in the Revelation: the shaking of the earth or mountains; the darkening or shaking of the moon, stars, sun, and/or heaven; and the pouring out of blood.
The OT is filled with these references to the Day of the Lord
John connects them all
The birth pains eventually give way to the baby
6th seal sees the building up of pain and torment until rich and free to the poor and enslaved will run to hide in the mountains and beg for the mountians to fall on them
Thinking their death will end their pain- but it wont
Many have thought that now- if i can check out of this life the next will better
Apart from a relationship with Christ- this is all the heaven you have and it only gets worse
Vs 16-17 are weighty verses that have an answer- Who can stand before the Lord on the day of wrath? no one
But their is group who does have hope
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
May we be found faithful- Our Conquering King will get us!