The quoting of these Old Testament scriptures. Tying into these New Testament Revelations. I hope we understand. that is saying to humanity, you better trust the Bible. Nobody's doing this, just me, because no one else can do it.
And you better understand. That if I'm right about these things, I'm going to be right about all things.
So it's not a little thing to say, oh, look, there's another prophecy that matches. It's a very big thing. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation.
Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
Now, here's Pastor Rick with the conclusion of his study called Martyrs and the Lamb in Revelation chapter 6. The Old Testament prophecy is like a coloring book. It's got the the image there. The Revelation colors in. The image.
giving us the detail. We have a better appreciation. for what we're looking at. in life. And here they chose the right side and died for it.
Their killers chose the wrong side and they will die twice for it. Once in the flesh and once in the spirit.
Well, the soul. Verse 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.
Well, the Lamb's wrath is placed right next to The Lamb's martyrs His people are persecuted. And now we have this next seal that opens, and this one is his wrath.
So it's not by mistake God is saying. Yeah, I'm angry. And what they've done to my people, and I'm going to extract justice if he's justified in these judgments. And the world understands justice.
Well, You cannot be unjust unless you understand just. You gotta know what to violate. The world gets what justice is, they just trample it.
Well most people. I mean there's exceptions with anything. Anyway, taking the approach that the first six seals are. And I'm not saying seals like I'm saying seals like Sticky stuff. Anyway, the first six are outlining the Great Tribulation, and this sixth one.
is the wrath of the Lamb. I know I'm repeating myself, but that's it's required. When we get to the seventh seal, it's sort of like God saying, Now let me go back and show you what is going to happen. Halfway through this tribulation period under the sixth seal. Again, strict chronology is not possible, but human rule on earth ends with absolute and abject terror.
Doled out by God Himself. These will not be natural occurrences. These things did not. Have to wait for John to see the seal. Before they occurred.
In other words, John is like, well, okay, so if we don't open the next seal, is the next thing not happening? No, God is saying, no, it doesn't work that way, John. I'm just showing you how it's rolling out. They're going to happen. Whether you see the seals open in sequence or not.
The point is They can only occur if God allows it. He's in full control. Which Antichrist won't Of course he thinks he's in control. He says here. There was a great earthquake.
Well, these are literal cataclysmic earthquakes. Can you spiritualize this and say, yeah, there are great changes in human society? Yeah, you could do that. But the first meaning is a literal earthquake, so intense. That a multitude of large volcanoes And tsunamis are triggered.
There are five earthquakes mentioned. Three of them are intense. One in particular is worse than ever. And that has something to do. with man's attempt to protect himself from nuclear exchanges.
I don't know how many of these. How many, how many how many? I do not know how many of these. We're going to get to that. We're going to get to that.
But they're in there. And I won't get the satisfaction of saying, see, I told you so, we're just going to cover it. Anyway, The devastation will come in waves, both literally and metaphorically. Earthquakes, no more earthquakes. Earthquakes again.
Here a volcano, there a tsunami, here an earthquake. Wars over here. Every all this stuff is happening. It's a big world, and none of it's going to get left out. The space station's not going to be able you're on the space station, you're not going to be able to survive.
First of all, your support elements are going to be Halted, but secondly, the heavens themselves are going to be in protest. The willful king will use these catastrophes in the early stages. to increase his power. Runways and shipping ports, they're going to be destroyed, many of them. Which will interfere with the supply chain.
But as you read Revelation, you get the feeling: you know, the armies don't seem to be suffering like the people. Like they have their supplies. Maybe, maybe they're coming in to Israel to destroy Israel. And also take her food, because Israel is going to be shielded through much of what's going on.
Well, these earthquakes, as I mentioned, there are five of them. The worst is in chapter 16, verse 18, and you can look that up some other time. To make sure nobody's stumming through there.
So anyway.
So, the systems of the world's government will be rocked. Isaiah talked about this.
Well, here's an Old Testament one that I didn't edit out. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut. Its transgressions shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall. and not rise again.
Well, that can only happen with the millennial kingdom and the coming of Christ. That, of course, puts us right into this phase. Of Christ's judgment on the world, which ends with Armageddon and earthquakes.
So there's an example of what I was saying. The Old Testament gives us the picture. In a coloring book, to be filled in. And John is filling in that Isaiah prophecy from Isaiah 24:20, and they're all over the place. The sun became black as sackcloth of hair.
Well, for John, that was the darkest he could line it up with Uh likely what's going on here, the sun became black as sackcloth. The smoke from the volcanoes, from the forest fires. from the nuclear exchanges. Maybe global, maybe parts of it, but these things are likely obscuring, and there could be also just a miraculous fact. of God obscuring these things.
Darkness Is not only exalted at this time in history, it is largely uncontested. Because those who contest The Antichrist Uh Are killed.
So, this is one of the takeaways from the book of Revelation. It's all about Jesus. And it's all about those who reject him. And it's all about the spiritual entities that are involved in rejecting him. And that's what we're talking about.
Whose blood was shed was for Jesus Christ, the testimony of Jesus Christ. We cannot lose sight of that. This is not just mankind going amok. It has to do with The New Testament, the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit, our relationship with Christ.
So this is making way for the super satanic demonic activity of the seventh seal. He says, and the moon became like blood, deep red, not orange, not rust color. But red Joel. The prophet. Chapter 2.
The sun shall be turned into darkness. And the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh.
Well What were they saying about that when Joel published his prophecy?
Well, the righteous ones believed it. He knew it was the prophet. And here it is showing up in the Revelation. All of nature will be affected, earth, sun, moon, stars. The sees everything.
Verse 13, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late fruit. figs. when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
Well, the stars falling to the earth The literal picture are asteroids. Meteor showers. You know, later in Revelation in chapter 16, we're going to read about hailstones, giant hailstones. When Sodom and Gomorrah was taken out, the fire and brimstone They were not the brimstone was not only little chunks. Imagine Brimstone the size of Cars.
slamming into the city. Because you know, you read that and you say, how does just a fire burn down a whole city like that when it you know, on to that degree? And archaeologists have discovered in that area of the world what they believe to be part of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction Singes on the earth, scorched earth. Big enough. to and with its impact to suggest Large.
hailstones of fire or brimstone. And so none of this is To me, unbelievable and John is capturing that. The stars of heaven fell to the earth. Let's do one more from Isaiah the prophet. All the hosts of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll.
All their hosts shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine. and the fruit falling from the fig tree. And John is giving us more detail to that. Nature falling apart. and society with it.
Verse 14. Then the sky receded like a scroll when it is rolled up. And every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
Well, that's what Isaiah said. And now John's coloring it in for us. The grand finale. This will as I mentioned, the space station will be you know, not escape these judgments. One more from Isaiah.
Well, there might be more. I don't remember. I took out so many, I don't know what I left. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light, the sun will be darkened and its going forth. And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
There's a blackout. I hope you understand. that the quoting of these Old Testament scriptures Tying into these New Testament Revelations. I hope we understand That is saying to humanity, you better trust the Bible. Nobody's doing this, just me, because no one else can do it.
And you better understand. That if I'm right about these things, I'm going to be right about all things.
So it's not a little thing to say, oh, look, there's another prophecy that matches. It's a very big thing. You and I can't do it. No one else can either. It takes God to have all of these things in rhythm.
These prophecies from long ago with the prophecies that are coming. and the ones that are fulfilled.
So the earth's Atmosphere will be drastically affected, and the sky, as we know it, disappears. It changes. It's rolled up like a scroll. What does that mean?
Well, don't be here to find out. Could be describing the scene that belongs to the Son of Man coming with clouds of heaven in great glory Because, again, if you're looking for sequence in every single revelation, you're going to get tripped up. But if you understand, there are overviews that come with this. For instance, Mark chapter 13, Jesus talking about His return. He says, but in those days after the tribulation, key point.
That's what allows me to say, okay, I think the sixth seal is the end. And then the seventh seal goes back and colors it in, where most commentators And I'm not saying they're wrong. I just don't see it that way. That's all I'm saying. Which really means I'm right and they're wrong.
So anyway, most commentators see them as a sixth seal. Oh, then comes the seventh seal and and but I just find you get too tripped up. By statements like this. And what's going on in this sixth seal? But in those days after the tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.
The stars of heaven will fall and the powers in the heavens shall be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send his angels and gather together his elect from the four winds from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven. Very thorough. But then, as you read that, you also have to say, yeah, but are there summaries within that statement?
Of course there are, because that's. This is too much information to give us point blank. And every mountain and island. Will move out of its place, cataclysmic upheavals. You can refer to Isaiah 24 for this.
Um in verse 15 now. 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.
So do you see how this would be out of place if it weren't the end? This is the end of it. This is, you know, This is the finale. Where he says, and, perhaps a better translation would be, then. then this is going to happen.
This flows into Armageddon also.
So the previous verses show the effects of divine judgment upon created order. the stars, the moon, the skies. This now is dealing with created beings. the thoroughness of God. The tribulation will not just be upon Created things, it would be upon created beings.
Everyone is seeking refuge where it does not exist. They've missed their opportunity. And it says they hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.
Well, the doomsday bunkers, and there are many of them. There are people that are buying these old silos and abandoned ammunition. Shelters and they're fixing them up to live in. They're, you know, preppers, some of them call themselves preppers, some of them don't. The world's deepest known bunker is said to be almost 7,000 feet below the surface of the earth.
The New York subway. You don't have to wait to doomsday to not survive that one. Anyway. You think about it, you pay your token to get on a train and you're actually paying to get mugged.
So coming back to this. It is. Believe that it's being built. Who else made in China, right? It's Chinese.
No offense to the Chinese people, but the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese people are not the same thing. just like the Nazis and the Germans aren't the same thing. Anyhow, coming back to this, they said to be able to hold a million people. They're they're bracing for being nuked. out of existence.
You know, when they built that three-gorge dam, that giant. It's the only time you can really use a dam, right? When you're talking about these water walls. Anyway, when they built that, you know, the Pentagon said, put that on the target list. Because if that dam is blown up, it's going to kill a billion people.
No exaggeration on the number there, it's not a hyperbole.
So anyway, the Chinese have built this bunker. And You know, when the earth, with these earthquakes, those bunkers aren't going to be able to, how are you going to survive? You're going to kill your source of oxygen, everything's just not going to work for them. But it's interesting that the Bible, sort of way in advance, says there are going to be people in caves, the highest level of society, looking to escape these judgments, and they will not do it. Again, Isaiah, they shall go into holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth from the terror of Yahweh and the glory of his majesty when he rises to shake the earth mightily.
Well, there's an indication that Yahweh of the Old Testament, Isaiah 2:19, and Jesus the Lamb of the Lord. Revelation 6 is the same person. It is the wrath of the Lamb. It is the terror of Yahweh.
So, verse 16 now, and they 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.
Well, God is telling us what's in their hearts. Repentance is not one of them. You would think. that they would repent. I think They have heard that if you got the mark of the beast, You're done.
And they're just, you know, sort of hardened up against God. You say, well, who does that, Pharaoh? I mean, look at the story of Pharaoh. It's like, what a numbskull. You can, you know, people with power can be very stupid.
Donald J. Barnhouse. in his Revelation commentary. He writes, Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, but there is no promise made to those who call upon the rocks and the mountains.
Okay. You know, when I read these wonderful quotes, I need to start plagiarizing them and putting my name there to get the credit. Anyway, they may not have voiced these exact words when the time comes. John may be giving us A Corrective interpretation. Whatever they're calling on, they might not be giving any credit to the throne of God.
But that's the source of their judgment. Because you have to say, well, why would they mention the hideous from the face of him who sits on the throne? Instead of repenting towards the one that sits on the throne.
So, this is stuff that we should think through. It's a healthy thing. It's better than so many other things. I've got a lot to say about that, but I'm not. Unless you pay me.
Anyway, uh coming back to this. My thought mainly is I think they know they're doomed. and they're hardening their hearts. We've seen this behavior. It's all over Scripture.
We see it today. You know, you look at some of these politicians, they can't be shamed. No matter what you throw at them, there's no such thing as them being wrong or them being ashamed of themselves or saying, you know what, I. I really blew that one. They just as you're watching these hearings going on.
You say, man, they just slaughtered you. Why don't you just shut up? But they keep going. The capacity for man to hold sin. One one man can hold more demons than 2,000 pigs.
And that is a great lesson from scripture. Anyway, death is no escape, nonetheless. Death does not annihilate the soul. The world doesn't know that. They need to be told.
It only dismisses the body. That's all death does. the person will continue to live. Forever. Just where?
Luke 23, 29. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us. And to the hills cover us. Jesus placing that. at the end of the tribulation period, which is the sixth seal.
Wrath of the Lamb is mentioned.
Well, the lamb doesn't want to be wrathful, that's why he's presenting himself as a lamb. and not a lion at this point. Man's evil necessitates The Lamb maturing into a Ram And that's what they're getting. Thomas Watson. of the Puritan age.
I don't know, it's hard to find stuff from him. He's in the pulpit commentary. uh heavy duty reading I wouldn't recommend it unless you were a pastor or you're just a voracious reader that can devour commentary. Anyway, Thomas Watson says: sinners may oppose God's ways. but not his wrath.
And amen. They don't have to like it. They can't do anything about it. Uh Luke 23, verse 30. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us.
And so we're re-reading that in its context. Verse 17. For the great day of his wrath has come. And who is able to stand? And again, it ends with the Armageddon, but there's going to be so much other stuff happening leading up to that.
The Jews will be blamed for everything, as well as the Christians, and so let's get rid of them. It is the judgment of God. It is the dark alternative to grace. What that I mean let I mean that's what a The dark alternative to grace. What is the alternative to grace?
Judgment, and it is dark. I'm not going to quote Isaiah 66:24, but you can reference it. I've commented sufficiently on my view of the sixth seal, with the seventh being. The one that's just gonna go crazy. He says, who is able to stand?
Not Lucifer and not Satan.
Now Lucifer belongs to Satan. Satan is the enemy, so Lucifer certainly is the enemy. He's the head of the satanic forces. And much of that is going to be unleashed in the coming chapters. Three verses, excerpts from three Old Testament prophets.
Concerning who can endure this, because the world is dumb enough spiritually. to think that somehow they've gotten this far They'll make it all the way somehow. And our voice has to be the one to say, wake up. Joel chapter 2. For the day of Yahweh is great and terrible, who can endure it?
Nahum, who can stand before his indignation? And these are all in the context of the end times. Malachi chapter three. Who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears?
Well, the righteous can stand.
So this is the sixth seal. The seventh doesn't come till chapter eight. We have a parentheses and Just a heads up, a parentheses does not indicate something unimportant, it indicates something important. Uh Uh This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings. While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Yeah.
