The End of the Cosmos and the Desolation of the Heavens.
“I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind.The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places. Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.” – Revelation 6:12-15. NLT
The time of tribulation that took place under the fifth seal is over. Christ said in Matthew 24 that signs would appear in the heavens that would begin the period referred to as “the time of the end” in scripture. “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Matt 24:29 NASB. According to Daniel the time of the end began in 1798. In 1755 we had the great Lisbon earthquake and subsequent tsunami, killing 60,000 people in 6 minutes. In 1780 (May 19) there was the unexplained dark day. (refer to support material for details.) The moon became like blood and in 1833 there was a massive meteorite shower. These were indicators to that generation that something was happening. It helped give impetus to the “great Advent awakening” Of the 1840’s. These signs that marked the beginning of “the time of the end” will also mark the end of that period – “A time of trouble such as the world has never seen.” Jesus was quoting Daniel 12 : 1 when He uttered this in Matthew 24: 21.
The sixth seal marks the last period before Jesus returns. The sixth seal portrays the end of the cosmos as the ancients understood it.
The seals began with the four horsemen, which depict the kind of judgments that repeat over and over in the course of history (Rev 6:1-8). The passage above, however, includes the absolute dissolution of the heavens (6:12-14) followed by the world’s recognition of that event and its condemnation by the wrath of the Creator (6:15-17). This seems to express the end of history as we know it.
The ancients used to sum up the totality of humanity in contrasting opposites like “rich and poor,” “slave and free,” “male and female.” In our text, John lists representatives of the entire social order. Absolutely no one, from Caesar on down, will escape this final judgment.
The overall impact of this text is to terrify anyone who has too much confidence in the material things of this world. There is no security, no firm ground to stand on, nothing in the universe to depend on except God Himself. The creation and everything in it will one day collapse. If our confidence is based on that which we can hear, see, and touch, our lives are tenuous indeed. If our certainty is in land, money, education, talent, or anything else, then your confidence is on sinking sand.
If your Confidence is in Jesus – have no fear!
This is where many people get lost in the book of Revelation because the seventh seal does not appear until Rev 8:1. The reason for this is that John inserts an interlude, describing what is taking place with the Lord’s followers by answering the question about the second coming of Christ that is asked at the end of Chapter 6, “who shall be able to stand.”