September 16 The Earth Shakes

Revelation 6:12-14 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
 
WHEN we reach the end of Revelation, we will see God’s promise of a new heaven and earth. That means the old, the current, earth and heavenly structures will be changed. Just as in Christ we are a new creation, the old has gone the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17) the Creator will recreate a sin-broken physical world to his ultimate holiness.
    The sixth seal reveals sin’s affects and God’s redemption on the world. The earth will shake. It often does with cataclysmic results. In Scripture the earth always shakes when God steps onto it. Something will happen, perhaps volcanic eruptions, to turn the sun black. The black sun is as black sackcloth made from black goat hair. Sackcloth is repentance, mourning and humility. The physical changes will bring God’s people to their knees.
    The moon will look red due to the same atmospheric changes that turns the sun black. Meteors will be as stars falling to shower the earth. The sky rolling up as a scroll can signify other visual affects of the earth’s physical disruptions. Or it can be Christ’s return on the clouds. The mountain and islands will be changed. The new heaven and earth must take place.
    One thing to remember about Revelation is that it is not the only place in the Bible that points to God’s holy perfection and power. We have seen connections to the prophets of old in John’s vision. Now see this remarkable passage that is another picture of these events: Hebrews 12:26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
    The new heaven and earth will be the unshakeable dominion of the Father, Son, Spirit and all his church. No sin will ever shake God’s eternal kingdom. Again, in the tumult of dramatic disruption and change, we know the hope of God’s assurance of eternal life.
    Look upward to heaven. From heaven is where our salvation comes. To heaven is where our salvation will lead us.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, that you are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Give us hearts to be still and know you are God. (from Psalm 46) Amen.