The Wrath of God:
Do we believe in a loving Merciful God who will allow the 4 Horses of the Apocalypse to shake up the Church and motivate a final revival on the earth? Will God wait until after these Seal Judgments to rapture the Church? Do we want to believe that the last seal, the 6th Seal (Rev. 6:12), overlaps the 1st seal (Rev. 6:2) when in Revelation 6:15 the 6th Seal states “the Wrath of God is here.” If this is true, we must ask why would an event or a degree of judgment work backwards in time to affect the 1st seal? It seems obvious that there is a progression of time from one seal to the next and it would make more sense for God to have said that the “Wrath of God is here” in the description of the release of the 1st Seal. Can the late use of this very important phrase imply that the Wrath began earlier? I do not think so. It is obvious that God wants us to know that each seal brings new judgments and consequences different from the prior ones. The 6th seal is a unique one causing every mountain and island to be “shaken.” It also results in the “kings” and other leaders of the earth to hide in fear in “caves” (or bunkers) as they behold the power and reality of judgment from the Almighty God. And read to the end to note that Jesus also makes reference to this.
God does not mention “His wrath” in any of the earlier seal judgments. It seems to indicate that God reserves His Wrath for the sixth seal: When He opened the sixth seal, v. 12 there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 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, 16 and 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! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand? This seems to indicate that the sixth Seal is the beginning of God’s Wrath— and NOT any earlier!
Yet many Prophecy gurus are determined to ignore the sequence of these verses and teach that God’s Wrath begins with the 1st Seal. When we read Revelation Chapter 6, the first 5 seals do not mention the Wrath of God but do reveal a type of persecution against Israel and the Church that is spreading in the world today. Thousands of Christian converts are being slaughtered in places like Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Southern Sudan, and now Burkina Faso. Israel is in the middle of both an internal and external war with divisions among its own Jewish population. Anti-Semitism along with a repressive Marxism mixed with Islamic radicalism is spreading worldwide increasing the threat of a nuclear war and violent civil unrest. The threat of the Red Horse along with the Lies of the White Horse are affecting politics and policies throughout the “free world.”
Verse 12 of this sixth seal is important. The book of Revelation states that when He opened the sixth seal, “and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.” Note that this catastrophic world-wide earthquake happens only after the 4 Horses of the Apocalypse. This unique series of events correlates with the Prophetic Warning in Joel 2:4-10, “They have the appearance of horses; They gallop along like cavalry. 5 With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. 6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. 7 They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. 8 They do not jostle each other; each march straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. 9 They rush upon the city; they run along the wall. They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows. {DOES THIS REFLECT THE TERROR SEEN ON OCTOBER 7TH IN ISRAEL?}
NOW CONTINUE WITH JOEL 2:10 “Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened”- (in the King James it states, “the sun becomes black as sackcloth and the moon becomes like blood.”) This great sign is identical to what we just saw in Revelation 6:12! Note that this is Sign of huge magnitude that is only mentioned a few times in God’s Word. It correclates with the 6th Seal of the Book of Revelation and the massive worldwide earthquake.
How can anyone ignore this—yet most pastors and prophecy gurus refuse to acknowledge this as they promote a rapture that will happen before the “Wrath of God” while placing this “Wrath” before the first 4 Seal Judgments which are the 4 Horses of the Apocalypse. This is not the sequence revealed in the Word of God. The “Wrath” only begins in the 6th Seal which is after the 4 Horses of the Apocalypse. Thus the rapture occurs in the middle of the Seal judgments and before or during the “great earthquake” that shakes every island and mountain.
Note verse 11 and 12 in the prophetic book of Joel: The Day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? Rend Your Heart 12 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” This great “Day of the Lord” correlates to the “Wrath of God” throughout scripture and indicates that God’s Wrath occurs after the “horses” trample the earth and right after a great sign appears: the “sackcloth sun and a blood red moon.” The only other way to explain away this connection and sequence is to say that God will generate TWO different signs with a sackcloth sun and a blood moon. This was admited by the biggest proponent of the pretrib rapture movement: the lawyer and prophecy speaker John Hitchcock.
You must decide on your own after you pray and study His Word. In Matthew 24:15, Jesus Christ warns about the abomination of desolation which Daniel indicates happens in the middle of the 7 years. The first 3 and 1/2 years of the 7 years includes the majority of the Seal Judgments. In reference to this time Jesus Christ states: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
This fits the description of the Seal Judgments involving the White, Red, Black and Green Horses that cause massive chaos in the world. Next Jesus warns of a greater persecution and shaking that appears to be the “Wrath of God”: Verse 15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”
The Question is — when does the rapture occur in the sequence of events leading up to the Abomination of Desolation. Will it happen prior to the Seal Judgments? Those in Africa suffering severe persecution would say that they are already in the events of the Seal Judgments and yet have not been raptured. Will America soon face the persecution seen there?
Will God shake the American Church in order to bring repentance and obedience among its members? Will He wait until the Abomination to rapture a weak and spoiled “Western” Church? I pray that God Will rapture the Church prior to all the Seal Judgments — but as you can see from the evidence above — the American Church may have to face the Seal Judgments prior to the rapture. Keep in prayer, obey God’s Word, and share the Gospel.