The Wrath of the Lamb!

I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals. I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?" No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book or to look in it. Then I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look in it. One of the elders said to me, "Don't weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome: he who opens the book and its seven seals."

I saw in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. Then he came, and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God; and we will reign on the earth."

I looked, and I heard something like the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders. The number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing!"

I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!" The four living creatures said, "Amen!" Then the elders fell down and worshiped.

I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, "Come and see!" Then a white horse appeared, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come!" Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come and see!" And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand. I heard a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, "A choenix [quart] of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don't damage the oil and the wine!"

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see!" And behold, a pale horse, and the name of he who sat on it was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. They cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.

I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind. The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved out of its place. The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They told the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Revelation, Chapters 5 and 6.

The Bible tells us the wrath of the Lamb awaits those who reject the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And in this same book, we're told the saints are at war with the old dragon, who "having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time" (Rev. 12:12). So, in the book of Revelation, we see both the Wrath of the Lamb and the Wrath of Satan. Those who reject the Truth will suffer the wrath of the Lamb, and those who follow the Truth will suffer the wrath of Satan.

Untold numbers of our brothers and sisters in Christ have suffered the great wrath of Satan. Down thru the ages, millions of disciples have been killed for the Word of God and the testimony of the Lamb. For many believers, in the past and up to this present day, the high cost of following the Lamb is to suffer the wrath of Satan. In a sense, embracing the Way, the Truth, and the Life is a death sentence for many Christians today.

So it's helpful to remember that our Lord told us: "Don't be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Matt. 10:28). The saints in Revelation 12:11 overcame Satan "because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death."

True believers stand firm in the faith, even to death. Why? Because if gaining eternal life for my soul means I must experience the physical death of my body, so be it! For what shall it profit me if I gain the whole world yet lose my eternal soul? Therefore, a major key to gaining access into God's kingdom is being willing to reject this present world. Which could possibly be why our Lord Jesus tells us in John 12:25, "He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life."

The wrath of the Lamb vs. the wrath of Satan. In summary, it's just another way of saying we all have to decide on either one of two options: Door #1: Accept the Christ and suffer the temporal wrath of Satan. Or Door #2: Reject the Christ and suffer the eternal wrath of the Lamb. Two clear options, we have only Door #1 or Door #2. Which one have you selected?

Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!