Devotional 22 February 2025
Revelation 6:12-17 ESV “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?’”
The world trembles at the thought of judgment, but few understand that the greatest judgment ever poured out in history was not against pagans, but against Jerusalem—the city that had rejected its King. The sixth seal is not describing the end of THE world, but the end of A world—the Old Covenant order centered around the temple and sacrifices. Jesus Himself foretold this judgment in Luke 21:20-22, warning that when armies surrounded Jerusalem, it would be “days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.” What John sees in this vision is the same judgment Jesus declared over Israel in Matthew 23:35-36, where He condemned that generation for the blood of the prophets, culminating in His own crucifixion.
The cosmic imagery—the sun darkened, the moon like blood, and the stars falling—was used by Isaiah and Ezekiel to describe the downfall of Babylon (Isaiah 13:6-13) and Egypt (Ezekiel 32:6-9). These were not literal astronomical events, but symbols of God’s total destruction of a corrupt nation. Likewise, the Roman siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was a complete unraveling of the Jewish world. The city burned, the temple was reduced to rubble, and over a million people perished. Those who had rejected Christ now cried out in terror, hiding in caves and calling for the mountains to fall on them—just as Jesus had warned in the drama of his own crucifixion in Luke 23:30.
Yet this judgment was not random—it was the righteous response to the cries of the martyrs (Revelation 6:9-11). The early church suffered persecution at the hands of unbelieving Israel, just as their forefathers had killed the prophets. When Stephen was martyred, he rebuked the Jewish leaders, saying, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?” (Acts 7:52). The destruction of Jerusalem was also God’s vindication of His saints, proving that no sin goes unanswered, no injustice is forgotten. The wrath of the Lamb is terrifying, not because it is cruel, but because it is perfectly just.
This passage also serves as a warning to all nations and people today. If God did not spare Jerusalem, His own covenant people, from judgment, how much more will He judge those who reject His Son? Hebrews 10:31 reminds us, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Every kingdom that sets itself against Christ will fall. Every power that exalts itself will be humbled (Daniel 2:44). Even now, we see nations rage against Christ’s rule, but His judgment is sure (Psalm 2). He is the Lamb, but He is also the Lion, and His justice will not sleep forever.
Yet for those who trust in Him, this judgment is not a terror but a comfort. Just as the destruction of Jerusalem vindicated the saints, so too the final judgment of each nation that stands against the Kingdom of God will bring justice to every wrong. The day will come when all evil is finally crushed, and every tear is wiped away (Revelation 21:4). Until then, we stand firm, proclaiming His kingdom, knowing that though the earth shakes, His throne remains unshaken. “Who shall stand?” Only those who are covered by the blood of the Lamb.