Revelation 6 - 12-13 - The opening of the 6th seal

Revelation 6:12-13
The opening of the 6th seal
By Brother Mike (12-13-19; 50 minutes)

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood ;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind .

INTRODUCTION

In this study of Revelation 6:12-13, we look at the opening of the 6th seal. With the opening of the 6th seal we will find that there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shake of a mighty wind. What does all this mean? Does it mean there was a physical great earthquake, and that the sun physically became black, and the moon physically became blood, and the stars physically fell unto the earth? And, when will or did all these things take place? And, what exactly is the significance that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs when she is shaken of a might wind? The answers to these questions and more we discover in this study.

Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ grant to us the power and authority to see what we need to see, and to hear what we need to hear, all to the glory of the Father, and to the Son, and through the Holy Spirit, amen.

Revelation 6:12:

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood . . .

In this verse, the apostle John begins by saying, And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal. The He who had opened the 6th seal, of course, was the lamb, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, and in that it was said that He opened the 6th seal reveals that it was He who brought the 6th seal about in history. So, let's keep in mind that Christ has always been in complete control of His salvation plan throughout history, and, in this case, He was in complete control of what was revealed upon His opening the 6th seal.

But, now, John continues, and, lo, there was a great earthquake. The word translated as lo is literally translated as the command, be perceiving so that our verse reads, and, be perceiving, there was a great earthquake. This command, be perceiving, is a command to, be alert, tune in, pay attention, be perceiving, there was a great earthquake. And, because there was a great earthquake, we should be alerted to something important. Yet, what is it that we should be alerted to? When we realize that earthquakes originate from the fallen state of the creation as a result of the judgment which had come upon Adam and Eve for having eaten the forbidden fruit, a great earthquake should remind us of God's judgment upon the world. And, so, when we read that there was a great earthquake, we are being told that there was a great judgment upon the world.

We can see that the term great earthquake is synonymous with judgment in such a verse as Revelation 11 where we read,

Re 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven .

Clearly, in this verse, the great earthquake is associated with judgment. And, again, we read in Revelation 16,

18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great .
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath .

Here, also, we see that a great earthquake is synonymous with judgment. Thus, when we read in our verse that there was a great earthquake, we can know that there was a great judgment. It does not necessarily mean that there was a literal earthquake as the book of revelation is wrought in symbolism, but it does mean that there was great judgment as symbolized by a great earthquake. Exactly what judgment it refers to, we will learn as we continue further into our verse.

Well, let's continue further in our verse in Revelation 6. It reads, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. This is very similar language to what we read in Matthew 24, which states,

Mt 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken . . .

And, similarly, we read,

Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine .

And, again, in Joel 2,

Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining . . .

What judgment are all these verses describing? We can know the answer to this question because Matthew 24:29 says, Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. The tribulation of those days being described in Matthew 24 is the spiritual Great Tribulation. So, we are being told that immediately after the Great Tribulation was when the sun was darkened, and the moon no longer gave her light, and the stars fell from the heaven. And, since we know that according to the proven Biblical Timeline of History that the Great Tribulation ended on May 21, 2011 when Judgment Day began, we know that May 21, 2011 is when the sun was darkened, and when the moon would not give her light, and when the stars fell from heaven. And, furthermore, since our verse in Revelation 6:12 which states, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth is basically saying the same thing as Matthew 24:29, which revealed that those things would take place immediately after the tribulation of those days (immediately after the Great Tribulation), we know that our verse in Revelation 6:12 must be describing the same judgment that came upon all the churches and the world on May 21, 2011, Judgment Day. Hence, we can know with complete certainty that the judgment being described in our verses of Revelation 6:12-17 took place on May 21, 2011.

But, now, what does it mean that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood on May 21, 2011? This is very similar to what Matthew 24:29 stated, namely that the sun [shall] be darkened. Both verses agree in that they are both teaching that the sun became darkened or black on May 21, 2011. Obviously, this is spiritual language! For the sun to be darkened or made black means that it is no longer shining forth its light. Yet, what does the sun symbolize in the Bible? When we look up the word sun in the Bible, we find that the sun symbolizes God who is Christ. First, we are told right out in Psalm 84:11,

Ps 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly .

And, in Malachi 4, we read,

Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall .

Notice, here, how the Sun of righteousness, who obviously refers to Christ is spelled Sun (S-u-n) of righteousness; thus teaching us that the sun symbolizes Christ. And, remember when Christ was transfigured. We read,

Mt 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light .

Then, in Revelation, we find several verses that clearly identify Christ with the sun. In speaking of Christ, we read,

Re 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength .

And, again, we read of Christ in Revelation 10,

Re 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire . . .

So, in all these verses, we find that we are on solid ground to see the Sun (S-u-n) as symbolizing Christ.

And, now, we can begin to understand our verse, which states, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. Since the Sun represents Christ, our verse is telling us that Christ is no longer shining forth His light to the world ever since May 21, 2011. To put it another way, Christ is no longer saving anyone ever since May 21, 2011. O yes, the churches are still proclaiming the words of the Bible, but the Holy Spirit is no longer applying those words to the hearts of the people unto eternal salvation. Yes, the spiritual light of the gospel has been darkened or made black so that no one is being eternally saved, for judgment has come. It has come both upon all the churches as well as upon the world immediately after the tribulation of those days (Matthew 24:29), which we know according to the Biblical Timeline of History that is well- proven to have been on May 21, 2011.

Now, why does God say through John that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair? In the bible, it is common knowledge that sackcloth represents mourning as it was a cloth worn by those who were in morning. For instance, we read,

Ge 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days .

Notice how that Jacob's putting on of sackcloth was for the mourning of his son. And, again, we read,

Isa 22:12 And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth . . .

Once again, we see that the putting on of sackcloth is associated with weeping and mourning. Then, we read,

Ps 30:11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness . . .

Notice how this verse equates morning with sackcloth and dancing with gladness. And, there are many other verses in the Bible that identify sackcloth with mourning.

But, if sackcloth represents mourning, what does sackcloth of hair represent? In the Bible, hair was given to the woman as a covering to symbolize that she is under the authority of man. We read in 1Corinthians 11,

3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God .
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head .
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven .
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered .
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man .
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man .
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man .
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power [authority] on her head because of the angels .
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord .
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God .
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered ?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him ?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering .

You see, because the woman was created to be under the authority of man (remember, we had previously read in 1Corinthians 11:3 that the head of every man is Christ; [but] the head of the woman is the man), she was, in general, given much more hair on her head than man to symbolize his authority over her. Thus, her long hair was given to her as a covering to reveal that she is under the authority man, and, so, when she prays or prophesies, she should remain under man's authority. That is, she should not usurp the authority over the man when she prays or prophesies, which in the church service meant that she was to be completely silent (1Cor. 14:34), but outside the church service, it means that the woman should never speak over or above the brother who is praying or prophesying, but fully respect his authority in the Lord with all submission and chastity of behavior.

Well, let's get back to our verse, which states, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. Now, we can begin to understand, I think, what we are being taught. Since we found that sackcloth represents mourning, and hair represents authority, as we had learned that the long hair on a woman represents that she is under authority, that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair represents that the light of Christ, or the light of salvation (the sun), became no more ever since May 21, 2011. And, as this black or dark period is described as sackcloth of hair represents that it is a time of mourning that is under authority. Whose authority? Well, of course, the authority of God. That is, ever since Judgment Day began, it is a time of mourning because no one can any longer be eternally saved; nevertheless, we should recognize that it all came about by God's authority to which we should submit so that we can stand up and proclaim it in the full authority of Yahweh Himself.

Now, finally, the last sentence of our verse says, and the moon became as blood. What does the moon represent? We read,

Ge 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also .

The greater light to rule the day, of course, refers to the sun while the lesser light to rule the night refers to the moon. As we learned previously in our study, the sun symbolizes Christ, and in that He rules over the day symbolizes that He rules over the kingdom of light. And, if the sun is a picture of Christ ruling over the kingdom of light, then the moon must be a picture of Satan who rules over the kingdom of night or darkness. Thus, we can see how the moon can symbolize Satan himself. Yet, the moon can also symbolize the law of God, for just as the moon naturally reflects the sun in the night, so also does the law of God naturally reflect the Son (the Son of God) in the night (it reveals that all are sinners in darkness and so are in need of the Son, Christ, the light). We can further see that the moon symbolizes the law of God in a verse such as Jeremiah 31 where we read,

Jer 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name . . .

Notice that it is the Lord who gives the ordinances of the moon by night. The word ordinances can just as well be translated as laws. So, it is the Lord who gives the laws of the moon by night. And, what are the laws of the moon by night? Why, they are the laws of God. Thus, we can begin to see how the moon can symbolize the law of God.

But, now, our verse continues, and the moon became as blood. We have learned that the moon can symbolize either Satan or the law of God, but what does blood symbolize? Well, since our verse is set in the context of judgment, we know that blood symbolizes death. For instance, when Yahweh brought judgment upon Egypt because they would not let the Israelites go, He turned the waters and rivers into blood, which resulted in death to all the fish and creatures that lived in the waters. We read of this in Exodus 7:20-21, which reads,

Ex 7:20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood .
21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt .

Thus, we see clearly that a judgment of blood brings death so that blood has become synonymous with death. Of course, the blood in our bodies is what gives us life, but the blood drained from any one of our bodies would result in death so that the blood would represent our death. Indeed, it is just common sense to realize that blood can symbolize or represent death, and it is common knowledge that in the Bible, blood symbolizes death when found in the context of judgment.

Now, since the blood in our verse symbolizes death, and the moon can symbolize the law of God, when we read, and the moon became as blood, we are being taught that the law of God became as death ever since May 21, 2011. That is, the law can no longer reflect the Sun (the light of Christ) in the night because the Sun has been made black or darkened so that the moon has become as blood; that is, it has become death. The law, now, simply condemns to death as it states that the wages of sin is death (Ro. 6:23) and all have sinned (Ro. 3:23) so that all must now die. Indeed, the law has become nothing but death, for the day of God's wrath has come! Weep and howl for the day of salvation has come to an end on May 21, 2011.

Revelation 6:13:

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind .

Here, we continue in the context of judgment on May 21, 2011, and we read, And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. What are the stars of heaven? They couldn't be literal stars, or we would have seen them falling from heaven on May 21, 2011. So, what are they? When we search the Bible, we read in Genesis 15,

4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him [Abram], saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir . 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars [the stars of heaven], if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be .

In other words, the stars of heaven are being compared to being the seed of Abram. We see this also in Genesis 22 where we read,

15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time ,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son :
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies ;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice .

Notice how Abraham's seed here is compared to being as the stars of the heaven. That is, the stars of heaven represent the seed of Abraham. Yet, who is the seed of Abraham? We discover the answer to this in Galatians 3:16 where we read,

Ga 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ .

So, we are told by this verse that the seed of Abraham is Christ. But, then, we also read in Galatians 3:29,

Ga 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise .

So, Christ is the seed of Abraham, and those who belong to Christ - who are all those who were saved in Christ by May 21, 2011 - are Abraham's seed as well.

And, now, we can conclude as to the meaning to the stars of heaven: the stars of heaven represent the seed of Abraham, which refers to Christ and all those who are saved in Christ Jesus, namely the elect. Also, we can now begin to understand our verse. When it states that the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, it is saying that Christ and the elect fell unto the earth.

Yet, what is the significance of Christ and the elect having fell unto the earth? Listen to what we read in two parallel passages to our verses in Revelation 6:12-13. We read,

Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining . . .

And, again, in another parallel passage, we read,

Eze 32:7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light .

Both of these verses are speaking about the same thing as our verse in Revelation 6:12-13, but notice that they do not say that the stars fell unto the earth, but they say in Joel 2:10, the stars shall withdraw their shining, and in Ezekiel 32:7, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark. In other words, Joel and Ezekiel speak of the stars that they withdrew their shining, or simply that they became dark, while our verse in Revelation 6:13 says, and the stars fell unto the earth. From these comparisons, we can conclude that when our verse says that the stars fell unto the earth, the significance of this is that the stars are no longer shining forth their light. So, ever since May 21, 2011, the stars are no longer shining their light, and this is what it means that the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. Their light, of course, refers to Christ, the gospel of eternal salvation. We read in John 8:12,

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life .

And, again, we read,

Joh 12:46 I [Christ] am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness .

Thus, Christ is the light of the world, but, if Christ and the elect are no longer giving their light, it means that they are no longer shining forth eternal salvation to the world, which means that salvation has ended for the entire unsaved world ever since the Day of Yahweh began on May 21, 2011.

Well, the last part of our verse says, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. In order to better understand this verse, we need to know what the fig tree symbolizes, and when we look up fig tree everywhere in the Bible to discover what it represents, we come upon a particularly revealing verse in Hosea 9. It reads,

Ho 9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved .

Now, if Yahweh says that [He] saw your fathers [the early fathers] as the first ripe [figs] in the fig tree, and the context is clearly that of describing Israel, for the verse begins, I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, then the first ripe figs in the fig tree must refer to the first ripe figs in Israel. Thus, we learn that the fig tree symbolizes the nation of Israel, which makes perfect sense when we plug it into other fig tree accounts such as the account found in Luke 13. There we read,

6 He spake also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree [the nation of Israel] planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none .
7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree [I come seeking fruit in the nation of Israel], and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground ?
8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it :
9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down .

In this parable, the certain man who came to seek fruit on His fig tree, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to earth and sought fruit on the fig tree (in the nation of Israel) during the three and a half years of His earthly ministry from 29 AD to 33 AD, but He found none because the nation of Israel as a whole rejected Him as their Messiah. So, the owner, Christ, said to cut the fig tree (the nation of Israel) down. Yet, the caretaker pleaded of Him to leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it, and then if it still doesn't bear fruit, then cut it down. So, the fig tree (the nation of Israel) has been left to see if it will bear fruit; that is, if it will come to faith in Christ as their Messiah. But, when Christ spiritually returned for judgment on May 21, 2011, the nation of Israel had still not bore any fruit, so, now, they have been spiritually cut down because it is no longer possible for the nation as a whole to come to faith in Christ Jesus, which means the nation is certain to perish on the Last Day when it is cast into the Lake of Fire.

Another fig tree parable is recorded in Matthew 21 where we read,

18 Now in the morning as he [Jesus] returned into the city, he hungered .
19 And when he saw a fig tree [the nation of Israel] in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away .

In this parable, we see that Christ cursed the fig tree (the nation of Israel) by saying that they would never bear fruit forever, which told us that the nation of Israel would never come to faith in Christ as their Messiah. And, indeed, even to this day, the nation of Israel does not accept Christ as their Messiah. O yes, there has been a remnant of individuals who are of Israel come to faith in Christ, but as a whole nation, they still reject Christ as their Savior, which is exactly what Jesus told us would be the case close to 2,000 years ago.

So, what does our verse mean when it says, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind? Well, we already learned that the stars of heaven falling to the earth means that they are no longer shining forth their light to the world. And, since we found that the stars of heaven represent Christ and the elect, this means that the Christ and the elect are no longer shining forth the light of Christ unto eternal salvation ever since the date we learned to be May 21, 2011. So, no longer is anyone becoming eternally saved through the witness of Christ and the elect ever since May 21, 2011, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind; that is, even as judgment has come as symbolized by the mighty wind; nevertheless, the nation of Israel has no timely or ripe fruit, but only untimely or unripe fruit that have been cast away. In other words, just as Jesus taught that the nation of Israel would never produce fruit or come to faith in Jesus Christ, so we see that it has still not come to faith in Christ by the time of Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. Thus, the nation of Israel has now been spiritually cut down with absolutely no hope of becoming eternally saved and it is guaranteed to be cast into the Lake of Fire on the Last Day. Howl O rebellious nation, for your time has finally come!

Now, before ending this study, we should consider that the nation of Israel was a type or picture of the New Testament local churches and congregations. And, so, when we are told that the nation of Israel had no good fruit come Judgment Day on May 21, 2011, it is also telling us that all the churches also had no good fruit come Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. And, we know why this is because all the good fruit obeyed Christ's command to depart out from all the churches long ago because God's judgment came upon them all beginning in 1988 (see Why leave all churches?), which left only bad fruit to remain in all the churches who are being bundled for the fire just as the nation of Israel is being bundled for the fire on the Last Day when they will all be cast into the Lake of Fire.

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

In this study, we looked at the opening of the 6th seal in Revelation 6:12-13, and we found that none of it was to be taken physically. That there was a great earthquake symbolized that judgment had come. And, that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair symbolized a time of morning ever since May 21, 2011 when by God's authority, the light of Christ was put out to end any further possibility of anyone ever becoming eternally saved.

And, then, we also learned that the moon became as blood on May 21, 2011. This meant that with no more eternal salvation possible, the law could no longer lead anyone to eternal salvation in Christ, but it could only judge them to death for their sins.

And, then finally, we also learned that the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shake of a mighty wind. This meant that ever since May 21, 2011, the stars of heaven, namely Christ and the elect, are no longer spiritually shining their light unto eternal salvation, which means that no one can any longer become eternally saved through their witness of the light, Jesus Christ. And, in that we were told that the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shake of a mighty wind taught us that no one can any longer become eternally saved even as national Israel can no longer be saved since by Judgment Day on May 21, 2011, national Israel had not produced any timely or good fruit. She still rejects Christ as her Messiah and Savior, and she always will even as Christ had foretold some 2,000 years ago.

Now, with that, may the LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace .