12 And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,

13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth…

14 … and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

16 And they said… hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.

17 For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

— Revelation 6:12-17

For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

— Romans 8:22

And He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

— John 5:27

For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

— Acts 17:31

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, peace and salvation from the Lord Jesus to you.

In Revelation 6 John saw the sixth seal bring the world to the threshold of the end of the age. The intensity and magnitude of the signs escalate as the universe itself is shaken and major catastrophes falls on the earth. The cosmic turmoil will accompany God’s judgment to demonstrate His holiness and His power over nature. Sin will ravage not only mortals but the whole created order. People will search for places to hide from raw cosmic breakdown around them. People fear most the face of Him who sits on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb.

How can the Lamb be full of wrath? Lambs are generally gentle, but here the Lamb of God exercises His wrath against all who have refused His grace. God’s wrath is not motivated by a spirit of retaliation or vindictiveness. God’s wrath demonstrates His holy desire and deliberate action to allow justice and righteousness to prevail. His wrath is fearful yet also purifying and holy—consistent with His attributes. The Bible presents God as both a holy and loving God. He will bring unchallengeable justice on the day He has set. Jesus Christ is both the sacrifice for believers and the righteous judge. Only Jesus provides refuge from God’s coming wrath.