Tour of Revelation Pt. 6
In the exciting Trinity War story arc, we meet Pandora, an immortal figure grappling with the fallout from opening Pandora’s Box, which unleashed all evil. Driven to reclaim the box and eliminate darkness from the world, she sparks a heated debate among Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. Each hero weighs the risks of helping her, splitting the Justice League into factions. Will Pandora’s quest prove to be a grave mistake, or could she be the key to saving us all? The stakes have never been higher!
Revelation chapter 6 is a laundry list of spiritual forces that have authority to harm the world. Jesus has the authority to open spiritual scrolls that: conquer evil (v.2), declare war (v. 4), manipulate poverty (v. 6), permit genocide (v. 8), watch over the martyrs (v. 9), and create natural disasters (v. 12).
These scrolls seem like unnecessary and inappropriate evils for God to allow in the world, but a greater truth lies behind them. Since the beginning of time, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, these realities have been in place, and God has worked alongside them. He won’t shut them up forever until he is ready, but he also isn’t using them for hopeless, petty vengeance. Notice that some of the scrolls show restraint and mercy. The comfort in Revelation 6 is that God controls these things, and we are on Jesus’ side. He is not the author and creator of these tragedies, but he manages how they are used.
God’s wrath, or judgments, on the world is a paradox. On one hand, the narrative suggests that the world is getting purged of evil through tragedies. The awful part is that we have to experience it daily. Chapter 6, by itself, illustrates a world full of hurt, but Revelation points to a world heading closer to the perfect end, when these tragedies are no longer needed. A believer in Christ realizes that the imperfect world has an expiration date and that Jesus has a plan for those who are faithful.
FIGURE IT OUT:
[Familiarize yourself with the 6 seals in Revelation 6 before reading this passage]
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us[f] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their[g] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
Revelation 6:15-17
- Read the verses above and circle any words or phrases that are significant to you. Why did you pick those ones?
- What privileges does Jesus, the Lamb, have as a leader over the world? How do you think Jesus handles these very traumatic decisions?
- How would the early church find this chapter comforting? Is it comforting for the modern church?
- How are we to act knowing we live with these tragedies on a daily basis? What is our hope knowing that these tragedies have an expiration date?