Judgment is not a dream . . .

 

 

READ Revelation 6–10

Last night I dreamed I was being stalked relentlessly; no matter where I went, he was there, but no crime committed so the police would not arrest him. The stalker would not give up until I willingly did whatever he wanted just to get rid of him. I woke without a solution and wanted to ‘write the ending’ to eradicate the emotions this dream created. Some of them came back reading again about the book with seven seals.

The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, opened each seal. The first revealed a rider on a white horse with a bow and a crown to conquer. Other references to a rider on a white horse refer to Jesus so does this one point to a completion of His redemptive work as the first thing to happen?

The second seal exposes a bright red horse. “Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.”

The third seal reveals a black horse with a rider carrying scales and a voice speaking of great financial inflation. The fourth seal exposes a pale horse whose rider is called “Death” followed by Hades, a word understood as hell. These were “given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.”

The fifth seal exposed the souls of martyrs under God’s altar crying to God for justice. He gave them white robes and told them to “rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”

The sixth seal revealed “a great earthquake, and the sun became black . . . the full moon like blood, and the stars . . . fell to the earth.” The sky vanished, every mountain and island moved, every person “hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains” calling out, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:1–17)

At that, John saw another angel telling those who had power to destroy, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” After that, he saw . . . a great multitude from every nation, tribe, peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes . . . crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” They were identified as saved by God out of “the great tribulation” and shepherded by the Lamb of God. (Revelation 7:9–17)

Then the Lamb opened the seventh seal and “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Revelation 8:1) Some say this revelation was so awful that even the angels could not speak, yet they had trumpets and exposed what came next with seven trumpet blasts. This first brought hail, fire and blood, with “a third of the earth . . . trees . . . and all green grass was burned up.”

The second blast revealed a burning mountain thrown into the sea and “a third of the sea became blood” with a third of its creatures dying and a third of its ships destroyed. The third blast came and a great star called Wormwood fell from heaven on a third of the rivers and springs of water killing many who drank those waters.

The fourth trumpet blew and a third of the sun, moon and stars were darkened and people continued to die. An eagle flew over calling out woes to those left regarding the next three trumpets. The fifth angel brought a start from heaven with a key to the shaft of the bottomless pit which he opened. The earth was darkened as locusts with the deadly power of scorpions poured out. They tormented all who were not marked with the seal of God and wanted to die but could not escape. Their leader was called names meaning destroyer, a term also used for Satan.

In the next woe, angels were released to kill a third of mankind. “The rest of mankind . . . did not repent . . .  nor give up worshiping demons and idols . . . or their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Revelation 8:6–9:21) As for the seventh, a voice told John to seal up what he saw, only to say that after that, “the mystery of God would be fulfilled.” (Revelation 10:1–7)

With that, my bad dream faded to nothing. Jesus will return to take care of all evil, real or dreamed, and will hold His people in safety while He does it. I’m not curious about that seventh trumpet blast. The first six were enough to put me on my knees, thankful that my destiny is secure because of the Lamb, and all the powers of hell cannot change that.