As with the abomination in the temple -- this is a "TimePost" event, first described by the prophet Joel (2:30-31):

• 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
• 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
• (Joel 2:30-31)

These events, the darkening of the sun and the moon turning to blood, also public in nature, are unmistakable and occur only once -- in the last days. The "great and terrible day of the Lord" refers to the "wrath-days" when rapid-fire judgements fall on the world from heaven. The word "BEFORE" makes it clear that the signs in the sun and moon PRECEDE the wrath of God. And so we have another "before and after" sequence:

• (a) Signs in the sun and moon.

• (b) The great and terrible day of the Lord (God's wrath).

This same TimePost is repeated in Acts 2:

• 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
• 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
• (Acts 2:19-20)

In this repetition of the writing of Joel, the order of the events is the same...and again the word "before" signals an order of occurrence:

• (a) Signs in the sun and moon.

• (b) The great and notable day of the Lord.

There is an intriguing word study here as Peter changes the adjective describing that day. Peter, quoting Joel on the day of Pentecost, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, changes "the TERRIBLE day of the Lord" to "the NOTABLE (NIV = glorious) day of the Lord". This day is both -- it is terrible to the unsaved on earth at the time of the end, for it signals the soon-to-occur wrath of the Lord. To the church it is glorious, for it signals the rapture -- as we shall see in the third repetition of this TimePost in Scripture.

Of great interest is the literal Greek word used by Peter. The word "notable" is literally the Greek word "epiphanes" (English: epiphany), which means "to show forth or appear". This is a very significant word (appearance, epiphany) in view of the third repetition of this TimePost...for it ADDS to the sequence a third event, the appearance of Christ in the skies, when "every eye shall see Him". Let's look at that third portion of Scripture, starting with Rev. 6:12, as the sixth seal is opened.

• 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;
• 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
• 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
• 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens 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 that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
• 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand ?
• (Revelation 6:12-17)

Contained in verse 12 is the TimePost we have been studying -- the signs in the sun and the moon. These are identical to those described in Joel and Acts. This verse adds another event...a great earthquake that coincides with this phenomenon in the sky. Since it is listed first, let us assume that the three events occur in this order, and probably on the same day: (a) a great earthquake shakes the world, (b) the light from the sun is totally obscured, and, (c) the moon becomes blood red.

Now, if this is the exact same event described by Joel and Luke, then there should follow some event that can be described as an epiphany, or an appearing, and the wrath of the Lord upon the earth. Note verse 17 of the portion:

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

So the sequence of, (a) the signs, and, (b) the wrath, holds firm. But this time, BETWEEN these two events is a third... which was hinted at in the word "epiphany-appearing" in Acts. Note verses 14 to 16 of Revelation 6.

• 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
• 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens 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 that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
• (Revelation 6:14-16)

Thus, directly following the signs in the sun and moon is the appearance in the skies above the earth of Jesus upon His throne (the Lamb, vs. 16). Since all on earth seek a hiding place from His face and from His wrath, this is the fulfilment of Revelation 1:7:

• Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
• (Revelation 1:7)

This actually constitutes another TimePost, occurring so soon after the signs in the sun and moon as to be "twin TimePosts" -- signs in the sun and moon and Jesus' appearance in the skies -- happening in rapid succession. So we have now added to the events that cluster around this TimePost, and they are listed in this order:

• (a) Earthquake.

• (b) Signs in the sun and moon.

• (c) The appearance of Jesus in the skies for all to see.

• (d) The beginning of the wrath of God, (begins in Revelation 8:1).

The next event is the sealing of the 144,000 (12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel); this protects them from the wrath which is about to come upon the earth. These people are distinct from the church, and not to be confused with the Jewish believers in Jesus Christ who are part of His church. The sealing of the 144,000 is recorded in Revelation 7:1-8:

• 1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
• 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
• 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
• 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
• 5 Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
• 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
• 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
• 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
• (Revelation 7:1-8)

The next event John sees as part of the sixth seal (before the 7th seal which starts the wrath of God) is the great multitude in white robes before the throne:

• 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
• 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
• (Revelation 7:9-10)

This multitude is identified in verses 13 and 14:

• 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and whence came they ?
• 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great persecution, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
• (Revelation 7:13-14)

Please remember that this blood-washed, international gathering of humans who worship the Lamb (in other words, the church) are, (1) "before the throne and in front of the Lamb", and, (2) have just come out of great persecution. Now, where is that throne on which sits the Lamb ? Why, we have just read about that in Revelation 6:12 to 14: the skies are rolled back like a scroll and the people of the world see in the skies the "face of Him that sitteth upon the throne".

NOW, remember all the verses that speak of the rapture and the many references to our rising to meet the Lord in the air. Our point is that in this sequence the church appears before the throne.

Note also that they have come out of great persecution -- not the seven years referred to by Daniel and which others call "the tribulation", but out of a great persecution of the believers. Put all this in your memory bank to be recalled when we study another portion.

Although many Scriptures describe the rapture of the church linked to the appearance (epiphany) of Jesus in the skies, technically this portion does not describe the rapture itself, but the RESULT of the rapture -- the church gathered unto Him around the throne.

We know, therefore, that the rapture occurs BEFORE the wrath of God begins (the seventh seal), but this portion by itself does not say when the rapture appears in the sequence we have been discussing. Nor does this portion state when the persecution (out of which the church has come) occurs in the sequence.

In a sense, we have "two to carry" -- knowing the rapture is "post-persecution" and "pre-wrath". Other portions will soon help us insert these two events into the list, in complete harmony with that which we have been studying.

NOW, let us make a list of the sequence of events we have discovered in Revelation 6 and 7, clustered around the twin TimePosts of the signs in the sun and moon and the appearance of Jesus in the skies. It will include an event called "the great persecution" since the identification of the church included that -- but I do not ask you to accept its inclusion in the list until we study the fourth Scripture that describes the signs in the sun and moon. All we know for sure at this point is that this great persecution PRECEDES the rapture, since the gathering before the throne came OUT OF this great persecution. Because I know what is coming in the fourth scripture in this series, I will list it first.

Here is the sequence:

• (a) The great persecution -- (exact location to be confirmed later).

• (b) The signs in the sun and moon.

• (c) The appearing of Jesus in the clouds (skies), visible to all on earth.

• (d) The sealing of the 144,000.

• (e) The raptured church is before the throne, secure with Jesus.

• (f) The wrath of God begins (the 7th seal).

We now have two lists -- one of three events clustered around the TimePost of the abomination, and this list of six events clustered about the twin TimePosts of the signs in the sun and moon and the appearing of Jesus in the skies. We are about to add other events in the sequence, and this will connect the two lists.

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