The Sixth Seal

 

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 mas 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, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17 ESV).

 

The opening of the sixth seal places us on shaky ground. John sees a massive earthquake undoing all the stitches of created reality. All that we assume to be permanent parts of the created world around us — the sun, moon, stars, blue sky, mountains, and islands in the sea — are dramatically changed or removed from their place. It’s like ground zero in an event of mass destruction.

 

No one is untouched by the destruction of this event. The powerful, the rich, and the poor all share in this common ground of chaos. All the things that people have relied upon in the past are removed. Wherever anyone turns for help or rescue are gone. However, the one constant that is not removed is God, Himself.

 

It raises the question of what do people do with this God who refuses to go away? We hear their cry of desperation. When people are brought face to face with God, they do what humankind has attempted since the fall (cf. Genesis 3:1-11): they try to hide from God. Fear deepens their desperation, and they call to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us!”

 

Hiding from God keeps God unknown. Thankfully, hills do not respond to people’s cries. But God does! God knows what to do with our fear over coming close to him. He welcomes us with all our fears and surprises us with an embrace like a parent welcoming a long-lost child back home (cf. Luke 15:11-24).