“For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" vs17

That’s the great question. Who can stand against the wrath of the Lamb? No one. Not the rich and the mighty. No one stands against this conquering King. We are wise to bow down in repentance, and receive him by faith. We are wise to surrender, suffer for his name, and then to live forever. At all costs, we must escape the wrath of the Lamb, because no one can stand, and there’ll be no hiding place. Believe on Christ, and you will be saved. Unbelievers will be punished, when he comes.

First, he’s sent forth to conquer [vs1-2]. "Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer." The Lord is on his throne from the beginning. All things are happening as he has planned. No molecule is out of place. Romans 9:21 - "Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?"

The Lord Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, so everything happens at God’s purpose. Sin has not taken him by surprise. He has defeated it. Even the consequences for sin, and its havoc in the world, he has meted out. Sin is not out of control: he uses evil humans, even their persecution of the saints, to advance the kingdom, and judge his foes. He has conquered death, and prevails at every turn. All of the elect will be saved, and his enemies punished [Rom 9:22-23]. There’s no defeating him. God has made him Lord, and he rules over all to give eternal life to whom he pleases [John 17:2]. He has absolute authority to raise the dead, and bring us to judgment. He is the most exalted and important Person. We must have his favor. We must have his approval.

Believe the gospel, and he will receive you. His death has conquered your sins. Reject the gospel, and he will damn you. Either way, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that he is Lord.

Secondly, the world’s miseries and sorrows are meant to teach us [vs4-11]. "And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword." They show us all is not right, and judgment is coming. We see the wickedness of men who kill each other. We see the drudgery of everyday life, as we labor for a living. "Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not harm the oil and the wine."" We see the worldliness of sinners, who turn their back to enjoy the world’s pleasures. We see the Church persecuted, but not defeated. "They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told 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 elect will be saved, and then the judgment. The right amount of people will suffer to the glory of Christ, and then he’ll avenge them in the end. We see the world going in its motions, but nothing is out of place. The Infinite Mind planned it from the beginning. God decreed it this way. All the evil is controlled and restrained. Ps 76:10, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise You: the remainder of wrath You shall restrain.” Man rules nothing, and Satan rules nothing. Who will stand before the King?

Thirdly, we see the Judgment [vs12-17]. "When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb."" The stars fall, the earth quakes, and there’s darkness. Christ descends and the heavens roll back to reveal him. It is a TRAUMATIC occasion. The rich and mighty are powerless. The slaves have no reward.

Man isn’t saved by riches or poverty. He must have faith. He must trust in Christ, and if not, this Judgment Day is horrible. You’ll try to hide, but there’s no place. You will look for mercy, but there’ll be none! It’s awful, horrible, and drastic, but we must be taught. God rules this world, and he’ll punish the wicked. Acts 17:30-31 "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."" We must get ready, and repent.

This great power can be on your side. He moves in perfect holiness. He’s a Warrior who’ll vindicate his people, and his reward is with him. Do not fear anything that you must suffer. Christ is worth it. Imagine working a year of hard labor for 50 million dollars. Would you do it? Would you dig ditches, carry rocks, and labor from sun up to sun down six days a week? For $50 million, most people would. This, however, is far less than the reward of the gospel. We escape hell, and the wrath of the Lamb. We get Paradise, which is being with Christ forever, rewarded in his conquest. We get this, plus joy on earth, as we serve Christ for a season. It’s not too much. His purposes are holy. This miserable world is coming to an end. Everything around us says, “Judgements coming. God must punish sin.”

Look to the One who conquered at Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. Look to him who died accursed, then rose again. Look to him who rules right now. He is the singular purpose of all things - that we magnify him or perish, which magnifies his grace or his powerful wrath.