June 15: MORE THAN FAIR

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Revelation 6:12-13

The opening of the sixth seal moves us forward in church history to a series of wake-up calls. The four signs listed in our opening verse are familiar to Old Testament readers: we are taught that the earth is shaken when the Lord comes to visit in judgment (Ezekiel 38:19-20; Joel 2:10; Amos 8:8; Haggai 2:6). The great earthquake of the sixth seal precedes the future earthquake of Revelation 16:18 (the seventh bowl plague which will shatter and destroy end-time Babylon). Earthquakes are becoming more frequent, just as Jesus stated in Matthew 24:7. The sixth seal earthquake is identified by historicist commentators as the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. There have been numerous earthquakes in recent centuries, but the intensity and extent of this one, and the wake of destruction with the tsunamis and fires that followed, awakened scientists to develop the modern measuring method of seismology. Then, a quarter of a century later…

The sun became black as sackcloth of hair. John was being shown what earlier prophets had seen (Joel 3:15 and Isaiah 50:3). Historicists believe that a fulfillment of this vision occurred May 19, 1780 in New England and parts of Canada. It is called the Dark Day. The darkness began moving in mid-morning, and by noon it was pitch black. No ray of the sun broke through. The thick darkness remained until past midnight, during which time no moon or twinkling stars could be seen. Sackcloth is an apt metaphor for darkness, and is closely associated with mourning (see Esther 4:1; Jonah 3:5-6; Luke 10:13). The mourning of those who wear sackcloth is also associated with repentance. Now is the time for such mourning. Now is the time for repentance. Your deep sorrow for sin and the suffering it heaped upon the Lord will be answered, not with fury and anger, but with comfort! This is the kind of mourning addressed by Jesus when He said “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

In the wee hours of the morning following the Dark Day, a blood red full moon emerged into view, exactly as stated: the moon became like blood. Then, a little over half a century later…

The annual meteor storm called the Great Leonids came over east and central North America. It was the 13th of November 1833. But unlike the usual annual event, it exploded into a profuse showering of tens of thousands of shooting stars. The night sky was so lit up that many people panicked, thinking their houses were on fire.

All of these things point us toward the time of judgment. In His mercy and compassion, the Lord supplies us with advance warning of His righteous judgment. He is just and fair—actually more than fair! Be prepared for His soon coming! Ask for His divine aid to align yourself with His will. Failure to heed the signs will leave you overwhelmed by the winds of strife that are mercifully still being held in check (7:1; see also Matthew 7:25, 27).

And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.