The Sixth Seal.
Rev 6:12-13
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.
These 'stars of heaven' represent the events in Rev.12 & 13
of Satan and his host of fallen angels being cast to earth after the war in
heaven. Satan is cast out by Michael the Archangel. These 'untimely
figs' symbolize the wrong fruit and the wrong season of the fig
tree parable, which is covered more in depth later in this same study. The
phrase 'untimely figs' is 'olunthos' in the Greek meaning 'an
unripe (because out of season) fig' (Strong's no.3653).
Thayer's gives an even better
definition:
'an unripe fig which grows during the winter, yet does not
come to maturity but falls off during the spring'. These 'untimely
figs' then, are excellent symbols for the 'spurious messiah'
deception Satan and his host attempt to accomplish when they get here on
earth in our near future. But because they are false or 'figs' out of
season, grown in the winter, they won't make it through God's 'consuming
fire', for The True Messiah Jesus Christ will destroy this 'spurious
messiah' with the 'brightness of His coming' (see 2
Thess.2:8). The time of the good edible 'fig' will be a proper growing
season, meaning the good figs, being God's elect will wait for The True
Christ Jesus, 'in due season', and will be righteous fruit. What a great
analogy our Lord has given us which expresses His season of return in the
'parable of the fig tree'!
What
is the ‘great tribulation’, how many are there, and who will
experience them?
The next verses cover the
subject of tribulation. However, we are still linking the seven ‘seals’
of Revelation with these signs as Jesus gives them in Mark 13. Hence, we
are still on the Sixth Seal of Revelation. Let’s continue:
Mark 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction,
such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto
this time, neither shall be.
Jesus quoted the words in
bold from...
Daniel 12:1. And at that time shall Micheal stand up,
the great prince which standeth for the children of thy People: and there
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even
to that same time: and at that time thy People shall be delivered, every
one that shall be found written in the book.
The word ‘affliction’ is ‘thlipsis’ in
the Greek, meaning ‘tribulation’ (Strong's no.2347). It is
the same word in verse 24 coming up which is translated ‘tribulation’. It
means to be ‘pressed’,
or ‘persecuted’.
This verse tells us of
a ‘persecution’
of Christians that is so great, that has never existed since creation.
Don’t forget, Jesus is teaching in these verses the signs of the end of
this earth age; it is not about when the Temple was destroyed by Titus in
70 A.D, and we are still on the 'sixth seal' here when this first
tribulation takes place.
Who brings this particular tribulation into
effect? It is the false Messiah, the Antichrist, as there
are two tribulations, just as there are two Messiahs coming, one
(Satan) being 'a spurious Messiah' as given
by the Greek word 'pseudochristos' in verse 22 of this same Chapter,
and The
