RR 033: The Lamb Opens The Scroll Of God’s Judgement

Key Thought

In this episode, The Lamb opens the scroll and begins to dispense God’s judgment upon those who reject him. The Lamb will deliver those who put their faith in him. 

Recap of Chapter 5: The Lamb is Worthy

In our last episode, we focused on what the Lamb was doing in chapter 5. John showed us God the Father sitting on His throne and holding a scroll with seven seals. The scroll contained God’s judgment for humanity’s continual violation of His will. The contents would only be revealed when the seven seals were removed.

Chapter 6- The Lamb Opens the Seals of the Scroll

In this episode, the Lamb opens the scroll of God’s judgment. The results are disastrous for God’s enemies. The Lamb had given his life and shed his blood for those that follow him. However, he now would bring judgement upon those who chose to reject his free gift of salvation. Lets’ start unpacking that by talking about the polish priest and martyr Maximillian Kolbe who died to save another man’s life.

 In 1941, the Nazis took Kolbe to the concentration camps of Auschwitz. A prisoner escaped, causing a backlash from the guards against the prisoners. The guards selected ten prisoners to be locked in a dungeon until they starved to death. Kolbe was not chosen, but he volunteered.

One of the men selected for death was Franciszek Gajowniczek. He begged for his life. He cried out, “My wife! My children!” Kolbe asked the guards to let him take the man’s place. Then, Kolbe and the other men locked themselves in the dungeon. Gajowniczek survived.

In the dungeon, Kolbe ministered to the other nine men. He prayed for them and encouraged them. After two weeks without food and little water, six of the ten men died. The guards executed Kolbe and the other three on August 14, 1941.

In 1982, Pope John Paul II canonized Kolbe as a saint and martyr. Gajowniczek attended that service. He said he would tell people about Kolbe’s heroic act of love as long as he had breath in his lungs.

We should tell people about Jesus’ heroic act of love and sacrifice as long as we live. Many of his followers have accepted this gift. Sadly, many more have rejected it.

Rejecting Salvation

Imagine if Gajowniczek had rejected Kolbe’s act of saving his life. What if, right after Kolbe stepped forward to die for him, Gajowniczek said, “I don’t know who this Kolbe guy thinks he is! I don’t know him, I don’t follow him, and I reject him dying for me. Take me to the dungeon to starve with the others.” Many make the same foolish decision by rejecting Jesus and the salvation of their eternal lives.

The Lamb died and shed his blood to save all humanity. However, many people don’t believe they need saving. Even if they did, they wouldn’t want Jesus as their Savior. In Paradise Lost, Satan says, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in heaven.” In the end, we choose to pick up our cross daily and follow the Lamb, or we make ourselves rulers in Hell like Satan.

The Lamb Begins the Process of Judgement

When the Lamb opened the seals, he began a process of judgment. This judgment plays out from chapters 6 through 20. It targets those who rejected his act of salvation and chose to be enemies of God.

I could be wrong in my view, so I encourage you to study this on your own. Talk to knowledgeable people. Double-check me, but my opinion is that this process is similar to Proverbs 20:8. It describes a king sitting on the throne of judgment, winnowing all evil with his eyes.

Winnowing means blowing a current of air through grain to sort, separate, and remove unwanted parts. I believe this is what the Lamb does in Revelation chapters 6-20. This process is the only way we can reach a perfect setting in God’s presence in chapters 21 and 22.

My Possibly Flawed View of What the Lamb Does in Chapters 6-20

1) No sin can be in the New Heaven and New Earth described in chapters 21 and 22. 

2) God’s nature demands justice against humanity, which willfully became His enemy. If not, his reputation would suffer as he did not do what he said he promised he would do throughout the Bible.

3) The Lamb began the process of destroying the works of the devil when he opened the scroll discussed in 1 John 3:8. 

4) The removal of all sin from a polluted creation is necessary before the perfect world of Rev 21 and 22 can happen. One of two things must happen for that to occur. The first is the Lamb sheds his blood to wash away the sins of believers. The second is that the Lamb eradicates the willful sin of unbelievers by any means necessary. 

Could this be what Jesus was talking about in John 14:3? “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

The Seven Seals

The scroll containing God’s judgment was sealed with seven seals. The number seven means complete, symbolizing that the time, place, and events of the end are fully sealed and top secret.

The seals, trumpets, and bowls of wrath all follow a pattern. The first four are judgments on the earth, while the last three are cosmic judgments. There is a progression of intensity as God’s judgments and the Lamb’s wrath become more severe from the seals to the trumpets to the bowls.

The disastrous judgments of the seals are foretold in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 14:12-23 mirrors Leviticus 26:18-28, listing God’s Four Disastrous Acts of Judgment: sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence. These judgments were for Israel’s pridefulness, faithlessness, disobedience, and idolatry against God. In Revelation, God and the Lamb judge all humanity for the same sins.

Zechariah’s Vision of Four Chariots in Zechariah 6:1-8 

The horses pulling chariots in Zechariah 6:1-8 represent an army executing God’s judgment on the nations. In ancient times, the chariot served the same purpose as a modern-day tank. It was a powerful and mobile way of asserting power on the battlefield. 

These chariots were pulled by strong horses colored red, black, white, and dappled. Dappled means small spots or patches that contrast with a solid background. An angel told Zechariah that the chariots were headed for the four winds of heaven, meaning nothing was beyond their reach.

The white and black horses went north. Israel’s enemies in the north were Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, so it is a good bet that was where they headed. The dappled ones went south, likely to another arch-enemy, Egypt. The chariot with red horses was not assigned a direction. They couldn’t go east because of the desert, and to the west was the sea. At Zechariah’s time, Rome in the west was not yet a threat. The last thing we hear is that the north was put at rest, meaning God’s enemies in the north had been defeated.

Can God Use Evil for the Purpose of Good?

Are the horsemen in Revelation good angels or demons? I believe they are demonic. If so, why would the Lamb have anything to do with them? The real question is: can God use both good and bad to accomplish good? The answer is yes.

The greatest victory for the kingdom of God was when Jesus allowed Satan to use Judas to betray him. Satan played into God’s plan by orchestrating Jesus’ death. We are saved by the blood of the Lamb, who died at Satan’s hand. This led to Jesus destroying the works of the devil. Jesus outsmarted Satan and used him as a tool to accomplish the Father’s will.

God can, and does, use good and bad to accomplish His will. Think about a junkyard owner using a dog to protect the lot. The dog doesn’t think about good or bad, only about attacking trespassers. I wonder if the four horsemen are similar to the junkyard dog, now being let off the chain.

God doesn’t cause evil, but He can use existing evil against itself. With that in mind, He uses the demonic Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to execute His judgment upon His enemies.

First Seal (earth)

When the Lamb opens the first seal, one of the four living creatures shouts, “Come!” with a voice like thunder. They summon a rider on a white horse, carrying a bow. He is given a crown and rides out to conquer.

What does this rider represent? Could it even be Jesus? Let’s look at the clues we are given. One clue is that he is linked with three other riders who are almost certainly demonic, so the company he keeps is not very good. Secondly, the Rider on the White Horse in Revelation chapter 19 and the commander of the Lord’s army in Joshua both have a sword, but this rider has a bow instead. He does have a crown, but the text says it was given to him, likely as authority to inflict punishment under the Lamb’s direction. 

I think this rider represents earthly kingdoms trying to trick people into thinking they are like Christ while actually acting like Satan. They aim to conquer the world with warfare and violence. Consider Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about the kingdoms in the book of Daniel. Also, remember Satan telling Jesus during the 40 days in the wilderness that if Jesus would bow down and worship him, all the kingdoms of the world would be given to him. In any case, the rider would accomplish his conquering through warfare and violence, linking him with the next horseman.

Second Seal (earth)

When the Lamb opened the second seal, the second living creature said, “Come!” A bright red horse appeared. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth so that people would slay one another, and he was given a great sword. The color red symbolizes blood and warfare. While the first horseman focused on nations conquering nations, this rider represents people slaying each other. It suggests a great amount of civil unrest and violence.

Third Seal (earth)

When the Lamb opened the third seal, the third living creature said, “Come!” John saw a black horse, and its rider had a scale in his hand. The rider was given authority to cause famine which resulted in massive price inflation of essential items and food staples such as wheat and barley. People would have to work hard all day, not to buy new things, but just to eat enough to stay alive. However, olive oil and wine, which were luxury goods more likely consumed by the wealthy, remained unaffected.

Fourth Seal (earth)

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, John heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” He then saw a pale horse, its color reminiscent of a corpse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with pestilence, and by wild beasts of the earth.

If you saw the Clint Eastwood western movie Pale Rider, you have heard of this one. In fact, this rider appears in other more recent movies. In Avengers: Infinity War, the mega-villain Thanos is committed to destroying a large percentage of Earth’s population. Marvel didn’t come up with this idea. They modified it from the rider on the pale horse named Death. The Greek name for Death is Thanatos. Thanatos doesn’t flow off the tongue very well, so they changed it to Thanos.

In the movie, Thanos was an unstoppable villain. All the superheroes together couldn’t stop him. The reason is simple: no mortal can defeat Death. In real life, if a person dies without giving their life to Christ, their next stop is to be defeated by Hades.

However, Jesus can and did defeat Death and Hades. After his crucifixion, he was resurrected on the third day. Because he defeated Death, we can be assured that he can also raise us from the dead, as he did with Lazarus. In fact, not only did he defeat Death and Hades, but in Revelation chapter 20, both were thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 1:17-18 tells us that Jesus is the Living One who was dead but is now alive forever. He holds the keys to Death and Hades. This means he can control them and use them as tools when it suits his purposes.

Fifth Seal (cosmic)

When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, John looked under the altar and saw the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for their testimony. 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?” 

On earth, they had turned the other cheek. Romans 12:19 tells us not to avenge ourselves, as vengeance is the Lord’s job. Now, they are asking Him to fulfill that promise. This is not just about justice being done but also about the Lamb’s reputation. It must be known to all that He keeps His promises.

The interesting thing is that they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer. They were waiting for the full number of martyrs to be killed as they had been. Wait… What? It is part of God’s plan for Christians to die for their faith in Jesus? Not only that, but God has a specific number in mind?

This is an upside-down viewpoint where enduring suffering faithfully is considered victory, and death is swallowed up in victory. This should make us pay more attention when we hear in the news that in some faraway country, a group of Christians had been killed for their faith. Think about it: each martyr’s death brings us one step closer.

Sixth Seal (cosmic)

When the Lamb opened the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Then the kings of the earth, the great ones, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called 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?”

Since they have always focused on the things of this earth, they now hope the earth and its rocks and mountains can shield them. In their hearts, though, they know there is no escape from the wrath of God and the Lamb. Jesus had told them all this would happen in Matthew 24:29-30, and now the day had come. They then ask who can stand in the face of the wrath of God and the Lamb.

The answer to that is in our next episode, but don’t wait for it. Just read ahead into chapter 7, and you will see that it is those who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Key Thought

In this episode, The Lamb opened the scroll and began to dispense God’s judgment upon those who rejected him. In chapter 7 the Lamb will deliver those who put their faith in him. 

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Roots