Wisdom To Face This Broken World, Part 1

One of the gifts we receive from apocalyptic literature such as Daniel 7-12 and the entire book of Revelation is wisdom. This is made clear in the book of Daniel where Daniel and his friends are described as men of wisdom (1:4, 17, 20; 5:11, 14), and this because God gave them wisdom (2:20, 21, 23, 30). The last half of Daniel, which includes the apocalyptic visions Daniel received (chapters 7-12), gives wisdom to readers regarding history and the trials we face so that we can live wisely as Daniel and his friends did in the first half of the book (Daniel 1-6).

The book of Revelation appears to function in a similar manner, even though the term “wisdom” is found only four times. The reader walks away from the book with godly skill and insight for living in a manner pleasing to God in this world, and this even in the face of great hostility. This is none other than wisdom.

One of the sections of the book that underscores this attainment of wisdom more than any other is that part of the book (chapters 6-20) which cycles over and over through the current age in which we live, giving us different pictures of this age, displays what is happening to the church, why it is happening, and how the church can faithfully endure.

The first cycle in this part of the book contains the seven seals that are removed from the book of history introduced in Revelation 5. We must keep in mind as we read about these seals in Revelation 6:1-8:5—as well as all the subsequent material of Revelation 8:6-20:15 that flows out of these seals—the seals and the material found in them flow out of the throne room vision of Revelation 4-5. Since the Revelation 4-5 vision unveils to us the reality that God is sovereign over all that happens in history and also that what is happening in this church age flows also out of the saving work of Jesus Christ, what we must keep in mind is that Revelation 6-20 convey the outworking of God’s sovereignty and the impact that the saving work of Christ has upon our enemy and how that enemy moves the world system to oppose the Church and her mission.

Since Revelation 7 contains an interlude before moving into the seventh seal in Revelation 8:1-5, we will confine our discussion this week to the first six seals in Revelation 6:1-17.

As we read about the opening of the seals, we must keep in mind one other truth. The opening of the seals comprises an unveiling of the end-times events that Daniel looked forward to and which were to remain sealed in his day, for it wasn’t time for their fulfillment yet (cf. Daniel 12:4; Revelation 22:10). This means that the future kingdom Daniel envisioned has started in the first coming of Jesus Christ, it awaits its completion at his second coming, and it has tremendous bearing upon the Church in the interim time.

Let’s turn now to the first six seals in Revelation 6:1-17.

Introduction To The First Six Seals: 

We must remember that Jesus Christ has received authority from God the Father and has taken up his rule over the kingdoms of the earth (1:5; 2:26-27; 5:1-14). The first four seals will show how this authority extends even over situations of suffering sent from the hand of God to purify saints and to punish unbelievers. In other words, it is Jesus Christ on his throne who has ultimately ordained all trials and persecutions the church experiences. Though this may be a hard truth, it is also a comforting truth that reminds us our trials do not come to us outside his control and in a manner in which he cannot orchestrate them together for our good and his glory.

Finally, in order to understand the events behind these seals, it is helpful to note some of their biblical background. That background is at least fourfold. 

a. Initially, the background is Leviticus 26:18-28, where God warns Israel how he would punish them for idolatry. In that text four times judgments are covered, each consisting of seven punishments, each series being worse than the previous ones. There we read of war, famine, conquest, and death. What we glean from this reality is that we may not be able to give specific explanation as to why a particular war, time of famine, or natural disaster takes place. But, we do know overall these things happen because the world is under a curse, God is correcting and purging his Church (as well as bringing his elect to him), and he is punishing those hardened in their idolatrous opposition to him.

b. Ezekiel 14:12-23 also is background and confirms what we see in Leviticus 26. Ezekiel 14:21 is explicitly quoted in Revelation 6:8b, where it functions as a general summary of the preceding trials (being conquered, the sword, and famine). The quotation seems to have the same function as in Ezekiel, where it sums up four preceding statements about trials as “four evil judgments.” These punishments came upon nations in general when they were unfaithful to God and they will also come upon Israel for their idolatry. The purpose of the trials in Ezekiel appears to be to punish the unbelieving majority in Israel and to purify the righteous remnant. What this means is that the same dual purpose is most likely present here in Revelation.

c. Zechariah 6:1-8 is also background. In that passage four groups of different colored horses (almost identical to Revelation 6) are commissioned by God to patrol the earth and to punish those nations on earth whom they find have oppressed God’s people (see Zech. 6:5-8). God intends to punish these pagan nations for their sins and also out of his love for Israel (Zech. 1:8-15). What this suggests for Revelation 6:1-8 is that the natural and political disasters are ordained, in part, by Christ, to judge persecutors of his Church, to vindicate his people, and also to refine his people.

d. The final passage that provides background is the Olivet Discourse by Jesus, as recorded by Matthew (Mt. 24:6-28), Mark (Mark 13:3-23), and Luke (Luke 21:5-24), where we see the same kinds of disasters as we see here in Revelation 6. There, Jesus clearly affirms that such events will precede his second coming and also any removal of the church from this current world.

Now, given the Old Testament background to the events depicted in these seals (namely the punishment of the nations for the persecution of Israel), wouldn’t this confirm the position of those interpreters of Revelation who see the events in chapters 6-20 primarily focusing upon Israel’s trials at the hands of the nations after the New Testament Church has been raptured out of the world? The answer is, “No,” for several reasons. To begin, if the Olivet Discourse is speaking of the same disasters as Revelation 6, then Jesus Christ has not returned yet and the Church has not been removed. After all, the strong implication of Jesus to the Disciples is that the Church would still be present in the world during these events.

What is more, at some places in the book of Revelation, the New Testament Church has traded places with Jews or Israel as the people of God. Unbelieving Jews have become the persecutors (3:9) and the New Testament Church (Jew and Gentile) is now the true Israel (cf. 7:1-8; 11:1-14; 12:1-17; 14:1-5; 15:1-4). What this means is that the situation in the Old Testament, wherein most true believers were Jews and there were some Gentile believers who had come to genuine faith, has now been reversed. There are Gentile believers and also some Jewish believers among the people of God. In light of this reversal, God is judging all unbelieving persecutors (Gentile and Jew) who persecute the true end-times Israel, i.e. the New Testament Church (Gentile and Jew).

Conclusion

So, what we have in the seals is not only a picture of what is happening in this sin-cursed world during this present age (Rom. 1:19-22), we also have some indication of why things are happening the way they are. We gain wisdom for facing hostile cultures and the disasters all around us. These trials and disasters are a result of the sovereign plan of our Savior, as well as the outcome of our enemy who hates the redemption Jesus Christ has accomplished (see also Rev. 12). They also are judgment upon a rebellious world that remains opposed to God and his people, and they serve to purge and grow the Church.

To understand all these truths does not mean that we can speak with specificity to certain events and claim something like this: “The attack upon that night club was clearly judgment upon everyone there,” or “That earthquake in that city was God’s wrath unleashed upon every individual in that city.” For one thing, we must remember that an event that is judgment upon many might be discipline upon some, and may even serve to be a trial that moves others to genuine saving faith.

No, we cannot speak with that kind of specificity or conviction. Yet, what we can take away is the wisdom that though, on the one hand, this world is broken and does not function as God originally intended it, nevertheless, on the other hand, there is not one thing happening during this age in this world that is outside God’s sovereign plan and outside of what God has orchestrated for the good of his people (Rom. 8:28). What is more, we can be assured that God, as the sovereign over this world, is always just, wise, and good, and that he will ultimately take care of his people and, at the same time, reveal his wrath against sin and sinners (Rom. 1:18).

Now that we have set the context for looking at the first six seals, we can turn to an examination of them in more detail. We will do that in our next blog post, “Wisdom To Face This Broken World,” Part 2.

Joyfully Seeking Wisdom With You,

Tom