Post-Trib, Pre-Wrath (Part 1)
And I say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14)
The previous chapter ends with the words "for the great day of their wrath is come". In the mean time, at the opening of the fifth seal (Rev 6:7), we see a massive amount of death. A quarter of the whole earth perishes. Quite likely as a result of the previous seals that had been opened, the seal of war (Rev 6:4) and the famine (Rev 6:6). When the fifth seal is opened, those who had been slained for the word of God were found. They had been killed by the sword. All this is pointing to a time great tribulation. Rev 7:9 tells of a great multitude who were suddenly around the throne. The question is asked "who are they?". Our quoted text is the response. They have managed to endure the Great Tribulation, Rev 6:17 we are told that God is about to pour out His wrath on the earth. But before He does that, He calls His people. This rescue, is the same as God protecting Noah and his family at the flood, and it reminds us of Lot being rescued before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. It wasn't that long ago that we read 2 Peter 2:4-9 where Peter alludes to this exact promise, using the same exact illustrations. The opening of the seals seem to be chronological, so one thing follows another. There is no timeline given for these events. They could happen at once. However, the seventh seal coincides with the seven trumpet (Rev 8:2). As believers are first removed, before the seventh trumpet is sounded the events must be sequential. It is clear to me the Christians will be here for the Great Tribulation, but will be removed before God pours out His wrath. The opening of the seals from 1-4 all appear to be performed by man. They all seem to be man's own doing. The fifth seal could be as well, but the souls are under the altar already. These souls may be those who through the centuries had been martyred for the Gospel, as verse 11 suggests more would be added to their number. The sixth seal (Rev 6:12-16) could be a man-made event given the technologies we have today, but I would rather suggest that it is an act of God. Rev 8-9 is where God pours out his wrath on those that are left behind. A third of everything is destroyed and killed until Trumpet 6-8 occur. It would seem that these cannot find death, but are totally tormented by what God pours out on them. Despite all of this, the conclusion is that they refused to repent, amazing that even at the end, God is still willing to save those who do repent, but they don't (Revelation 9:20-21) Two Ways to Live? We are 2000 years away from the events in Jerusalem when Jesus spoke Matthew 24. Revelation 6-9 could very well happen in our lifetime. We have the very real threat of being persecuted and killed for the Gospel, either as has happened in DRC and Syria recently, or when things really heat up later. Those not killed will go through a torrid time, some perishing from famine, others through whatever means they can invent. Are you ready? Father, thank you that your word is indeed very clear. The imagery may be strange, but the words are clear and can be taken literally. Thank you that in death or in life, you are with us. Thank you that you will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. Thank you that we have eternity with you to look forward to. Thank you Jesus for redeeming us with your blood.
