<< Previous | Index | Next >>"THE BOOK OF REVELATION" Six Seals Opened (6:1-17) INTRODUCTION 1. The scene that began in chapter four continued in chapter five... a. The theme of chapter four can be stated as "God is on His throne!" b. The theme of chapter five may be called "Worthy is the Lamb!" 2. Both chapters appear designed to set the stage for what follows... a. That God is ultimately in control as He sits on His throne b. That the Lamb (Jesus Christ) is worthy to reveal to His servants what God has given Him - cf. Re 1:1 [In chapter six, the Lamb opens six of the seven seals on the scroll. The first four seals reveals...] I. FOUR HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS (1-8) A. AS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT... 1. First seal opened - Rider on a white horse - Re 6:1-2 a. The Lamb opens the first seal b. One of the four living creatures says "Come and see" (NKJV) or "Come" (ESV) c. John sees a white horse and its rider 1) The man had a bow 2) A crown was given to him 3) The man went out conquering and to conquer 2. Second seal opened - Rider on a red horse - Re 6:3-4 a. The Lamb opens the second seal b. The second living creature says "Come and see" (NKJV) or "Come" (ESV) c. John sees a fiery red horse and its rider 1) The rider was granted to take peace from the earth, and for people to kill one another 2) A great sword was given to him 3. Third seal opened - Rider on black horse - Re 6:5-6 a. The Lamb opens the third seal b. The third living creature says "Come and see" (NKJV) or "Come" (ESV) c. John sees a black horse and its rider 1) A pair of scales is in the hand of the rider 2) A voice in the midst of the four living creatures says "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine." 4. Fourth seal opened - Rider(s) on the pale horse - Re 6:7-8 a. The Lamb opens the fourth seal b. The fourth living creature says "Come and see" (NKJV) or "Come" (ESV) c. John sees a pale horse and its rider 1) On the horse sits Death, and Hades followed with him 2) Power was given them over a fourth of the earth 3) Power to kill with the sword, with death, and by beasts -- Some manuscripts have the four living creatures saying "Come and see", suggesting that they are speaking to John; other manuscripts have them saying "Come", suggesting they are speaking to the four horses and their riders (I believe this is more likely) B. OBSERVATION AND INTERPRETATION... 1. The first four seals reveal four horses and their riders, commonly referred today as "The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" 2. Notice what is said about the different riders: a. "...a crown was given to him..." (the rider on the white horse) b. "...it was granted to the one...there was given to him..." (the rider on the red horse) c. "...a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying" (the rider on the black horse) d. "...power was given to them..." (riders on the pale horse - Death and Hades) 3. Some questions to consider: a. Who had the power to give a crown, to grant such authority? b. Who in the midst of the four living creatures might have spoken? - cf. Re 6:6 c. Who had power to give to Death and Hades? 4. When we consider that Jesus... a. Is the ruler of the kings of the earth - Re 1:5 b. Has the keys of Hades and of Death - Re 1:18 c. That He was in the midst of the four living creatures - Re 5:6 -- It seems clear that the answer is Christ! In other words, the horses and their riders were acting upon the authority and power given them by Christ 5. Therefore I suggest the following explanations for the first four seals: a. The white horse and its rider - Represents military conquest, such as God used to bring judgment upon Assyria (Isa 10:5-7, 12-13,15-16) and Babylon (Isa 13:17-20) b. The red horse and its rider - Represents civil war, in which people would kill one another, such as God used in His judgment against Egypt (Isa 19:1-4) c. The black horse and its rider - Represents famine, where necessities (wheat and barley) would be scarce, while luxuries (oil and wine) might be in abundance but of little interest to the hungry; God had used famine in His judgment upon Israel (Jer 14:11-12) d. The pale horse and its riders (Death and Hades) - Represents death brought about by the sword, hunger, death (pestilence), and beasts of the earth. Such severe judgments God had brought upon Jerusalem in the past (Eze 5:17; 6:12; 14:21) e. Many see the fulfillment of these things in the Roman advance on Jerusalem during A.D. 67-70, as described by Flavius Josephus in his book, The Wars Of The Jews f. Compare with what Christ said would precede the destruction of Jerusalem: "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places." - Mt 24:7 -- I'm suggesting that the four horses and their riders may represent the means by which Christ would bring divine judgment upon unfaithful Jerusalem [The reason for such judgment becomes evident when the fifth seal is opened...] II. THE CRY OF THE MARTYRS (9-11) A. AS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT... 1. Fifth seal opened - The cry of the martyrs - Re 6:9-10 a. The Lamb opens the fifth seal b. John sees under the altar those who had been slain 1) For the Word of God 2) For the testimony they held c. They cried with a loud voice: 1) "How long, O Lord, holy and true" 2) "Until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 2. Their consolation - Re 6:11 a. A white robe was given to each of them b. They were told to rest a little while longer, until their fellow servants and brethren would be killed -- The judgment and avenging of their blood would come, but at the appropriate time B. OBSERVATION AND INTERPRETATION... 1. With the opening of the fifth seal, we are told why the Lord (Christ?) would bring the judgment signified in the first four seals (military conquest, civil war, famine, death) 2. Souls have already been slain for the word of God and their testimony a. When the time is right, the martyrs would be avenged - cf. Lk 18:7-8 b. Meanwhile, souls of the slain are comforted with white robes and rest - cf. Re 3:4-5 3. Who were these souls (martyrs) under the altar? a. Perhaps Christians who had already paid the supreme price for following Jesus b. Such as Stephen (Ac 7:54-8:2), James (Ac 12:1-2), Antipas (Re 2:13), even Paul and Peter who had been martyred by the time Revelation was written, and countless others also -- The righteous indignation of the Lord depicted in the first four seals appears to be explained by what is revealed in the fifth seal [Which brings us now to the opening of the sixth seal, which reveals what happens in...] III. THE DAY OF THE LAMB'S WRATH (12-17) A. AS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT... 1. Sixth seal opened - Cosmic disruptions - Re 6:12-14 a. The Lamb opens the sixth seal b. Cataclysmic events occur: 1) A great earthquake 2) Sun becomes black as sackcloth of hair 3) Moon becomes like blood 4) Stars fall to the earth, like ripe figs shaken from a tree by a mighty wind 5) Sky receded as a scroll when rolled up 6) Every mountain and island moved out of its place 2. The reaction of mankind - Re 6:15-17 a. Great and small, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and rocks of the mountains b. They cry out to the mountains and rocks: 1) "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" 2) "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" -- The sixth describes cosmic disturbances and the despair of trying to hide from the Lamb's wrath B. OBSERVATION AND INTERPRETATION... 1. Is this scene depicting "the day of the Lord" at the end of time? - cf. 2Pe 3:7-12 2. The language is reminiscent of that describing God's judgment upon nations in the OT a. The burden against Babylon - Isa 13:9-13 b. The lamentation against Egypt - Eze 32:7-8 c. The prophecy against Samaria - Hos 10:7-8 3. Jesus used similar language to warn people of the impending destruction of Jerusalem a. As He foretold what would come upon those of His own generation - Mt 23:34-39 b. Even as He was being led to His crucifixion - Lk 23:27-31 -- Therefore I suggest it refers to the impending judgment upon unbelieving Jerusalem for persecuting God's people (both OT prophets and NT saints) CONCLUSION 1. Unfaithful Jerusalem would not escape the wrath of the Lamb... a. The first four seals reveal the means by which He would bring judgment upon the city b. The fifth seal reveals the reason for such judgment: the avenging of the martyrs' blood! c. The sixth seal reveals in prophetic, symbolic language the despair of mankind at that time 2. Who would be able to stand in the great day of the wrath of the Lamb...? a. The answer is given in the seventh chapter (the answer may surprise you) b. Which serves as an interlude between the opening of the six seals and the seventh seal Meanwhile, we should be asking ourselves today concerning the coming of our Lord to judge the world (cf. Ac 17:30-31): "Who will not be able to stand in that day of great wrath?" The answer is found in Paul's 2nd epistle to the Thessalonians: "...and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed." - 2Th 1:7-10 Do you know God? Have you obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Heed what Peter commanded the Jews on the Day of Pentecost! - cf. Ac 2:36-39<< Previous | Index | Next >>
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