“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.”
Revelation 6:12 NKJV
The sixth seal judgment opens with severe cosmic disturbances that affect the earth. Following a great earthquake, the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood (v. 12b). This describes a lunar eclipse, commonly referred to as a blood moon. These eclipses can portend judgments that God is sending upon the world, specifically to Israel.
Let’s look at a definition and explore some history about tetrads.
The History of Blood Moon Tetrads
A Blood Moon Tetrad is a series of four lunar eclipses (minus any other partial eclipses in between) that fall on Passover and Sukkot. Lunar eclipses are warnings for Israel (on a lunar calendar), and solar eclipses are warnings for the rest of the Gentile world (on a solar calendar). Since the birth of Jesus over 2,000 years ago, this has happened eight separate times, each time with important significance for Israel.
- In 1493-94, a tetrad appeared after King Ferdinand of Spain ousted the Jews in 1492 from his country. Christopher Columbus, a Jew, left Spain to find a new land where his people could move. That land today is America.
- In 1949-50, a tetrad appeared after Israel became an independent state in 1948, signifying its miraculous reestablishment after its destruction in 70 A.D.
- In 1967-68, a tetrad occurred following the Six Day War of 1967. For the first time in 2,000 years, Jerusalem was reinstated as the capital of Israel during a miraculous six-day war.
- In 2014-15, the eighth tetrad happened with a solar eclipse in the middle. (A solar eclipse bodes warning for the rest of the non-Jewish world. Some predict that it means war is coming to the world.) This coincides with President Trump’s pre-presidency campaign in 2015 and election in 2016. Later, in 2020, the Abraham Accords established peace and diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and potentially, Sudan.
The next tetrad will not happen for another 500 years. The most recent blood moon (not a tetrad) occurred during the midterm election in the United States on November 8, 2022. The next one will fall on March 14, 2025, at the end of Purim.
The Fig Tree in Scripture
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.
Revelation 6:13 NKJV
What does the fig tree symbolize in scripture? Let’s look at some references.
- Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to make coverings for their nakedness (see Genesis 3:7).
- Malachi envisions the universal benefits of the New Covenant by referring to every man “sitting under his vine and under his fig tree” in Micah 4:4.
- Nahum compares the devastation of Nineveh to a ripe fig falling from a tree that is shaken (see Nahum 3:12).
- Isaiah compares the destruction of the enemies of God’s people to a fig falling from a tree (see Isaiah 34:4).
- Jesus uses the cursing of the fruitless fig tree to refer to the Jews’ rejection of Him as Messiah (see Matthew 21:19).
The Wind of Divine Wrath
Some interpret this wind as a symbol of destruction to those who persecute the followers of Jesus. They are symbolized by the falling of late figs from the tree “when she is shaken of a mighty wind”–the wind of divine wrath.
- Jeremiah prophesied that a “full wind” would come upon Jerusalem, “not to fan, not to cleanse,” but as a judgment to execute “sentence against them” (see Jeremiah 4:11-12).
- Jeremiah refers to a great whirlwind rising up from the farthest parts of the earth and disaster going from nation to nation (see Jeremiah 25:32).
So, will stars literally fall to the earth like ripe figs shaken by a mighty wind? Perhaps asteroids might fall to the earth, but one thing is clear from the comparison to the fig tree. The corrupt and lawless governments on the earth at that time will be judged and destroyed when this seal opens.
The Heavens and Earth Shaken
Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
Revelation 6:14 NKJV
This great earthquake will be so powerful and severe that the sky will appear to tear in two and roll up like two ends of a scroll. The earth will also be torn apart, from the highest mountains to the smallest islands. Some commentaries surmise that this physical destruction will also tear down pagan and false religious beliefs–everything and everyone who deny Jesus and persecute believers. This is evident in the following verses that conclude the sixth seal:
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, 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! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?‘
Revelation 6:15-17 NKJV
One thing is sure: from the richest and most powerful down to the weakest and poorest, people on the earth will understand that God’s judgment has arrived. There will be no place to hide, and they will have to face God’s wrath. The sixth seal judgment will be a terrifying day on the earth for those who are left behind after the Rapture of the church.
One more seal judgment remains. Don’t miss this very important seventh seal in our next blog post.
Dear Father God, we praise You for loving sinners enough to send these righteous judgments to wake them up. On the day when the sixth seal opens, people will still have a chance to be saved. May they repent of their sins and run into the saving arms of Jesus. In Your holy Name we pray, Lord Jesus, Amen.
The Sixth Seal Judgment by Karen Jurgens Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved.
