Those Slain For God's Word And The Coming Cosmic Calamities

 Dear "Ministers of Reconciliation and Ambassadors for Christ":

The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law reported in July 2021 that at least 3462 Christians, including priests or pastors, were murdered in Nigeria in the first 200 days of 2021 by the jihadists and their collaborators. This amounts to about 17 Christians killed every day in Nigeria for 200 days. I weep for Nigeria, my country of origin. Christianity Today reports that on-going, and daily at least 13 Christians are being killed around the world for their faith in Christ. Is anybody watching and where are the world leaders and their silence?

Thousands more of those who believe in Christ during the Great Tribulation will be killed. Why Lord and when will you act? Jesus will surely judge and act on behalf of His people.

“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?” This is the cry of the kings, the mighty men, the rich, the slaves, the free, and all people on earth during the Tribulation period. They are asking the mountains and the rocks to fall on them because there is no place to hide from God’s wrath. No one will be able to stand except the servants of God who will be saved during The Great Tribulation (a seven year period after the Rapture of Christians to heaven).

Let’s continue our study of the book Revelation and read Revelation 6:9-17:

Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs

⁹ When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 

¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances

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?”

Last week we saw the Lamb, Jesus open the first four seals of the Scroll; and the emergence of the Antichrist, the deceit, the killings, and the famine and hunger upon the earth. Jesus is continuing His judgment and opening the next three seals of the Scroll.

You can see that Jesus has every reason to continue His judgment as He opened the fifth seal. The slain Christians have been crying out to the Lord and saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Jesus never forgets His own. He will be on time and on target. 

The slain Christians of the fifth seal were killed during the Antichrist and Tribulation period, and more Christians will be killed during the same period for refusing to worship Satan and his representatives on earth. Their "souls", not their heavenly bodies are in heaven unlike the already raptured Christians. Jesus had mentioned them in Mathew 24:9 and they will resurrect and receive their heavenly bodies in Revelation 20:4.

As I write, earthquakes and volcanos are erupting and destroying parts of Canary Island. Maybe you saw or are seeing the pictures. These are nothing compared to the coming cosmic calamities with earthquakes, stars (meteorites) falling to the earth, the sun turning black, the moon becoming like blood, and mountains/islands being move from their places. These would not be global warming but a global meltdown. You can’t blame China for it. Who wants to live and be alive during the described period. It is sure to come to pass. It is not far-fetched as we see as example the melt down of parts of the Canary Island.

Are you and I getting the picture and message?  The calamities of the first six seals are what Jesus in Mathew 24:8, calls, “the beginning of sorrows”. There is certainly a Great Judgment Day coming and we are not even there yet. Wait till Jesus opens the seventh seal which ushers in the seven angels and seven trumpets that will be sounded and ushering in their calamities.

Note the plea of the people during the tribulation. “Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” No one can face God and Jesus in judgment. The people are begging the rocks and mountains to kill them rather than face God. Today and now is the time to appear before God’s throne to obtain grace and mercy (see Hebrews 4:16). Tomorrow may be too late.

Again, if you have believed and trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you need not panic or fear because we are already raptured and are in heaven. But if Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, please run for your life and run to Jesus. If these revelations will scare you to Jesus, so be it and these would be the best scares of your life.

Again we end with this reminder and injunction:

^“18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

Will you “Minister of Reconciliation and an Ambassador for Christ”,  today and in these seasons of uncertainties, on Christ’s behalf, implore people to be reconciled to God? You and I can share with others what Christ has done in us through the transforming work of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit. You don’t need a theology degree to do that. Will you plead for God to your neighbors, coworkers, etc.? No one will have an excuse to escape the coming judgment. Trusting Jesus now is the only answer and not later. Amen.

Lord, we thank you for reconciling us to yourself. Lord, please encourage, protect and strengthen the Christians in Nigeria, Afghanistan, Iran, and other parts of the world who are going through persecutions and killings. Amen.