SEAL SIX
This is a much lengthier vision which I believe we can more easily understand by breaking it down into three component parts.
C) THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Before going on to look at each of these sections I want to try and bring some new light upon this passage by looking briefly at the:-
GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL NATURE OF THE SYMBOLISM
In order to properly understand the symbolism used in this section of the Apocalypse, we need to know a little about the geographical situation of the Isle of Patmos where John was in exile, and the geological upheavals that took place in that immediate area in John's Day. From the island of Patmos it was possible to see another island called Thera known as the Beast, because in ancient times it was one of a number of volcanic islands in the area, and its arid slopes were made up of black volcanic rocks formed by successive eruptions in the area. According to the historians Pliny and Eusebius, Thera was particularly active in the period when John wrote. An extremely violent eruption had taken place in the area around 60 A.D. resulting in the submersion of some islands and the formation of others. The cliffs of Thera range in height from one hundred to one thousand feet, and the little town which was perched above these stratas of lava could only be reached by a narrow zig-zagging path. At the south of Thera are two mountain peaks some fifteen hundred feet high, and many of the inhabitants had used the naturally formed caves and caverns, at the front of which they had added their own frontage, to make homes. From these veritable dens amidst the rocks and the mountains they could take refuge in times of cataclysmic volcanic upheaval. With these facts in minds I feel we will have a better and clearer understanding of the next few verses which make up the First Section of the Sixth Seal, which I have entitled 'The Wrath of the Lamb'.