Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #18 of Revelation, chapter 6, and we are going to continue looking at Revelation 6:12:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

We have been discussing the “great earthquake,” (megas seismos) that the Bible is referring to here and we have seen in Revelation, chapter 16, that that “great earthquake” identifies with the fall of Babylon, as it says in Revelation 16:18-19:

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Babylon is used of God as a figure of Satan’s kingdom of this world which now, at this time, includes the churches and the congregations.  But Babylon fell at the end of the Great Tribulation and that is when Satan, who had been exalted to heights he had never previously reached, took his seat as the man of sin in the temple “shewing himself that he is God.”  The Bible likens him to the King of Babylon and during the church age, Babylon did not fall.  Babylon was then victorious; they were the army out of the north that conquered Judah and Judah is a representation of the churches and congregations.  It is at the end of the twenty three year Great Tribulation that the conquering army of mighty Babylon falls.  It was at the end of the historical seventy year period (in which God used Babylon to destroy and to bring into captivity His people) that Babylon finally fell to the Medes and the Persians.

So the “great earthquake” identifies in Revelation 6:12 with Judgment day and, by the way, there is no question of that because Revelation 6:17, continuing from the context of verse 12, says:

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

So that identifies the “great earthquake” with Judgment Day, the great Day of the Lord, the great day of the wrath of God and, so, too, with the fall of Babylon (which relates to Judgment Day) which comes immediately after the days of the tribulation.

Well, we were looking at the “great earthquake” and in those verses in Revelation 16 we saw that a tenth part of the city fell and seven thousand were slain and, again, we discussed how that identifies with those that were close to the true believers (as close as possible, so they would give the appearance of being true believers) but they were not, just like the “third part.”  When Judgment Day came all the professed Christians (and all those in the churches and congregations that gave an appearance of being identified with true believers) were bundled as tares for the burning.  They were slain on that Day because they had been within the churches when God was saving only outside of the churches, so there was no hope for them; there was not even the hope that people in the world could have  that God had, perhaps, saved them before He ended His salvation program.  And since they did not even have that hope, they were slain, according to the Bible’s language (or, we could say, the seven thousand were killed and the tenth part of the city fell). 

Well, the “great earthquake” had that negative impact, as God uses it to relate to the judgment of the wicked, but it also had a positive impact as the Lord speaks of a “great earthquake” in Acts, chapter 16.  Today we are going to look at this amazing “earthquake.”  You may hear about many earthquakes in the world and you will never hear of an earthquake quite like this, as described in Acts 16:25-30:

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Now let us take a closer look at this earthquake.  First of all, it was not a tremor; it was not a minor quake, but a “great earthquake.”  When there is a “great earthquake” it is capable of destroying whole cities and killing thousands and thousands of people.  We are very much aware of this because we have seen great earthquakes in our time.  Yet, this earthquake, according to the information God records, did no damage whatsoever.  The only effects of the earthquake were that “the foundations of the prison were shaken.”  So, we can picture Paul and Silas and the other prisoners and it is midnight and they are in this dark and damp prison. 

Prisons in that time, we can be sure, were not very comfortable places.  They would be nothing like the prisons of our day, especially in some well developed countries, which are very nice places and full of light and the prisoners have food and clothing and are well taken care of.  But in that day in that ancient city, the prisoners were not really cared for all that well.  Actually, we read back in verses 22-25:

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

This is a very awful situation.  Their clothes are rent and then they are beaten and shackled, as their feet are made “fast in the stocks” and they are in an inner prison and the doors of the prison gate are locked.  Yet, what do we read?  Are Paul and Silas crying?  Are they bemoaning their situation?  Are they murmuring and critical of God’s providence concerning them and of the will of God for the things that happened to them?  Do they doubt God’s goodness?  No.  “At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”  So, into the darkness of this prison come two believers and they have been mistreated and there is nothing outwardly that anyone could think of as to why they would praise God and why they would sing at a time like that.  They have been abused.  They have the authorities against them.  They are shackled with these stocks and their feet are held fast in them.  The prison doors are shut and, more than likely, there is no light in that prison. 

But in this situation, God directs His people.  God is the one that allowed the situation to develop that finally had Paul and Silas cast into that prison.  God is the one that arranged the circumstances so that “at midnight” in the dark dungeon they would begin to pray and to sing the praises of God.  Now we can see how Paul and Silas are being wonderful witnesses of the Gospel; they are carrying the Gospel message into the darkness of this world.  It is really a beautiful picture of that and we can see how the light of the Gospel shines in the darkness.  The fellow prisoners are probably just amazed.  “What is wrong with these men?  They must be insane.  This is a place of misery.  This is a place where you weep and howl and cry.  This is a place where you groan in your pain.  You do not come here and sing praises unto God.  You come here to the dark dungeon to curse God.”

So when it says the prisoners heard them, we can be absolutely sure that, yes, they most definitely heard them.  They probably had their ears as open as they had ever been in their lives.  What else would they hear in that darkness?  What other thing would attract their interest like this?  Nothing at all!  They were listening to these men as they overcame their situation, and as they overcame the very worst of circumstances.  How could they do it?  After a while they would realize that these men were not crazy; these men are sincere; these men truly love God and they are truly thankful to God that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.  Who are these men? 

Then, “suddenly there was a great earthquake,” so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and, immediately, all the doors were open and “every one’s bands were loosed.”  Now let us draw another picture…well, we are not actually drawing it – the Bible is; God is.  That is the situation of this world, for instance, as we read in the Gospel of John 1:4:

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Here, God is talking about the Lord Jesus and this world.  This world lieth in darkness – spiritual darkness, not the actual physical darkness of that dungeon.  But, spiritually, the world is even darker than that dungeon – even filthier, even dirtier – and even more misery lies in the spiritual darkness of this world than in the dungeon that Paul and Silas were cast into. 

Yet, comes the light.  A light shines into the world and enlightens the people of the earth.  It goes on to say in John 1:7:

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Paul and Silas were messengers of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Light.  When they were brought into the prison, the light of God entered into the darkness of the prison.  Those men were not just in physical darkness, but in spiritual darkness.  And what happens when the light comes into the darkness?  Well, it illuminates the dark.  So God sent forth His Word into the world throughout the New Testament era to bring light to the darkness that prevailed over the world. 

The Lord also had a special plan at the time of the end during the Great Tribulation Period that He called the “latter rain.”  During that time of the latter rain, it was God’s plan to open up the Scriptures to reveal truth and shine further light upon the darkness that the world lies in.  It was God’s plan, by the opening up of His word, to include information concerning the date for the beginning of Judgment Day, May 21, 2011, and the Lord stirred up His people to carry forth that message to all the earth.  All the earth heard.  All the earth certainly took notice of this truth – this light that was shining in the darkness.  It was out of character; it was a break from the typical “news” of the world, of its lies, deceitfulness, murders, wars and all of the constant evils that are going on.  No – this was something different, a message coming forth from the Bible, a message, therefore, that was sent by God Himself; it was an insistent, urgent message that a particular date would be the Day of Judgment.  And practically all the world heard this message, a world that lieth in darkness.   What about the sinners of the world?  Where are they, spiritually, as the Bible would describe them?  Where are sinners to be found?  Well, you can find sinners in luxurious homes or there are some sinners that are much poorer and some are even homeless.  You can find sinners in every class of life – they are rich and poor – but that is not where they are to be found spiritually.  Here is what God says in 2^nd Timothy 2:24-26:

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Unsaved people are ensnared by the devil and “taken captive by him” and, therefore, that would mean that every unsaved people dwells within a “dungeon.”  They are held in captivity to sin and Satan and they are a part of the kingdom of Satan, as it says in Colossians 1:13:

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Now that is referring to someone at the point of salvation; God transfers them out of darkness and into the light.  He transfers them out of the kingdom of Satan and translates them “into the kingdom of his dear Son.”  He takes them out of the prison – out of the dank, dark, ugly, filthy prison of sin and bondage to Satan.

Remember as the Apostle Paul was witnessing and testifying before King Agrippa and Paul recounted how the Lord had come to him, in Acts 26:15-18:

And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

This is what the Gospel of God does.  This is what the grace of God accomplishes in the life of a destitute sinner – a miserably poor wretch (even if he does not know it) – that is held fast in captivity to his own sins; the cords of his own iniquity are wrapped about him and holding him steadfastly in the kingdom of darkness.  He does not even want to escape because he is such a poor wretch.  He thinks his measly pleasures that will last for only a season are so valuable that he will not even attempt to escape.  He is thankful he can have the sinful pleasures that he possesses, so that he can enjoy them.  He does not even think that it is for a short, little time and then they will be gone and he will have to suffer the consequences of an eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord.  He does not even consider that.  He is so blinded.  He is so deceived by his own heart that he thinks he has everything because he has a house and a car and a few electronic toys and he has some money in the bank account, so he can fulfill the desires of his eyes and the lusts of the flesh.  And more and more in this day, he can take his fill of pleasure and have the things of the world – they are at his “beck and call.”  Yet, he is nothing but in the worst of situations.  He is in the dungeon of sin and snared and held fast in the stocks, captive to sin and to Satan.

And God delivers the captive.  God translates that poor sinner out of that situation and into the kingdom of light.  This is why Jesus spoke of being “free” and he said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”  Only the child of God is a “free” man.  Everyone else is a servant to the devil and a servant to their own lusts and to their particular desires.  Yet, the child of God serves Christ, out of love for what He has done for him.  So we are very thankful.

Well, this picture in the Book of Acts begins to take on a very different meaning as we are reading of Paul and Silas singing praises to God and praying at midnight in the prison – in the dark dungeon: “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”  Now what could this mean?  Again, this is a miraculous earthquake.  This is the hand of God.  No earthquake accomplishes something like this.  Earthquakes destroy.  Earthquakes would bring the building down upon all the prisoners and kill them all, but this “great earthquake” was directed by the will of God.   He had it shake the foundation at precisely the right place and level so that it would only open up the prison doors and loose every one’s bands.  It is a wonderful picture of the salvation of God – delivering sinners, delivering captives to sin and Satan and translating them into the kingdom of His dear son. 

Now did this take place on the Day of Judgment?   Did something like this happen when Judgment Day, May 21, 2011, came?   We have identified the language of a “great earthquake” with that particular day.  Yes, because God had a plan to save a great multitude and to bring them out of Great Tribulation and, we could say, to deliver the Jews from Babylon and to deliver the sinners from Satan’s dungeons that had been held fast by him.  Satan was desperately trying to keep them slaves and keep them prisoners and he worked overtime to fight against God and to fight against the Word of God as it would go forth seeking these lost souls, the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 

But God sent forth His Word and found them, no matter where they were in the world.  Finally, at the end, with a loud trumpet blast to warn all the world that “now was the time,” the appointed Day of Judgment.  God used this to draw His elect and to save them.  How many did He save, whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?  He saved them all and that is why all the prisoners had their doors opened; it is why “every one’s bands were loosed.”  Not one prisoner was left in that prison or held fast any longer due to locks and bars.  The locks and bars were all opened.  Every one’s cell sprung open.  Every one’s chains and shackles fell off their feet.  Now they could get up.  Now they could go forth.  They could leave that prison and they could come out from their captivity. 

But they did not.  That is the amazing thing: they continued in this situation after this miraculous earthquake – they did not leave.  The keeper of the prison sprung in “and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”  You know, we were also supposing that once God saved all His elect and once the Day of Judgment comes and the “great earthquake” occurs (and, yes, He saved everyone He intended to save; there are no more to be saved and there are no more prisoners to be loosed in Satan’s kingdom; every one’s bands have been loosed), we were expecting to flee this world and to be raptured and taken out.  And, yet, we find the Apostle Paul is moved to cry out in Acts 16:28:

But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

And that is where we find ourselves: here, on the earth, living in the Day of Judgment.