A great earthquake
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. Revelation 6:12
I live in western Pennsylvania so, as you can imagine, we don’t get a lot of earthquakes around here. Oh, we have snow, hail, windstorms and even a tornado once in a great while, but no tremors. Actually, there was one time when I happened to be sitting in my living room by myself and the entire house began to shake. I thought it was very strange but truthfully if I hadn’t been sitting still, I would have never felt it. I found out later that day that there was actually a tremor in our area. Very rare and have never experienced one since then.
There have been devasting earthquakes in our time. I can remember when an earthquake hit Haiti in 2010. Almost the entire country was in ruins. There have been others since then in various countries. Japan, Nepal, Indonesia, Morocco, China and Afghanistan to name a few, ranging from 6.0 – 9.0 on the Richter scale. As devasting as these disasters were at the time, they are nothing compared to the earthquake we are reading about today in Revelation 6.
When Jesus opens the 6th seal in today’s reading, there was released such a great earthquake in the world that it blackens the sun and turns the moon bloodred. This phenomenon causes stars to fall to the earth it’s compared to a tree shaking off ripe fruit. On top of that every mountain and island are moved out of place and the sky slams shut like a book. This picture is way beyond anything I can imagine, though I do think if I were there I would be calling out to God for help and protection. Surprisingly, the majority of the people in the world will run and hide from Him. There will be some who turn to God, but overall, people are still not acknowledging that God can save them. They believe God only wants to destroy them and they have no remorse in their hearts for their wickedness.
This scene reminds me of Adam and Eve in the garden when they sinned against God. They hid themselves and when they were found by Him, they made excuses and blamed someone else for making them that way. If they had repented and confessed to God that they made a mistake and asked for His help, I know things would have gone a little differently. Not that sin would not have entered the world, but their relationship with God would have definitely been better. All the people in today’s reading that are in the world at the time of this great earthquake, hide and then call on mountains and rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne. No responsibility, no remorse and no repentance. So sad, even those that do survive only go on to a greater degree of destruction and devastation on the earth with the things to come.
Today I want to encourage you to repent and turn to God for salvation, help and empowerment to get you out of any predicament you may be facing. Don’t try to figure things out for yourself and don’t try to hide from Him or what you are going through. Turn your concerns, cares and worries over to Him and learn His supernatural answers to every problem you have. If you don’t already know Him personally or if you are here in the world when these devasting things happen, you can turn and repent (go in His direction) today. Simply invite Him into your heart and into your life by praying the prayer below with all sincerity and believe. He will save you and He will keep you. After you do ask Him in, then you begin to cultivate your relationship with Him by getting to know His love and provision for every area of your life through quiet time with His Word and prayer each day. If you have already invited Him into your circumstances, begin to learn about the depth of His love for you by pressing in to time with Him and His promises He gave in His everlasting Word!
Pray: God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior. I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me. Please forgive my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new today. I know Your Son, Jesus died for me. I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead. At this very moment, I accept, confess, and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward. I now have a right relationship with God my Father through this salvation in the blood of Jesus. I thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit to guide me and to empower me to accomplish the things You have planned for my life in Jesus’ name, Amen
Today’s scripture reading: Revelation 6:12-17
12 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.
13 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.
14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The Daily Dose 