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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'1-');">Rev 6</a> - The First Six Seals</h2>
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<p>A. The first four seals of the scroll bring four horsemen.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'1-2');">1-2</a>) The white horse brings a man of conquest.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals</span></b><span>: From the previous chapter, we understand this scroll is the history and destiny of mankind and creation, and only Jesus - <b><span class="c3">the Lamb</span></b></span> - has the right to loose the seals on this scroll of the culmination of history.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. If the scroll details the culmination of history, then these things must happen <i>before</i> the scroll is opened. This is not the fulfillment of history itself, but the <i>preparation</i> for it. The actual culmination will be detailed in <a onclick="return mV('Rev',19,'1-');">Rev 19</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "It is worthy of remark that the opening of the seals is not merely a declaration of what God will do, but is the exhibition of a purpose then accomplished; for whenever the seal is opened, the sentence appears to be <i>executed</i>." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4"><span > </span></p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see."</span></b> Each seal is associated with a living creature (<i>zoa</i>, one of the cherubim of <a onclick="return mV('Eze',1,'1-');">Eze 1</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Eze',10,'1-');">10</a>) who calls out "<b><span class="c3">come</span></b>" (or, it could be translated "go forth") to each horseman.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Behold, a white horse</span></b><span>: Some - perhaps they take their interpretive clues more from cowboy movies than from the Bible - believe the rider on the <b><span class="c3">white horse</span></b></span> is Jesus. Jesus does return on a <b><span class="c3">white horse</span></b> in <a onclick="return mV('Rev',19,'11-16');">Rev 19:11-16</a>. But this is a satanic dictator who imitates Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. He rules (<b><span class="c3">a crown was given</span></b>); he rules with <b><span class="c3">a bow</span></b>, not a sword; and he exercises dominion over the earth (<b><span class="c3">went out conquering and to conquer</span></b>). But the <i>results</i> of his rule, as described in the following verses, show this is not the reign of Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The whole context and character of these seals absolutely forbid our thinking of this rider being the Lord Jesus, as so many affirm. <i>His</i> reign shall not bring war, famine, and strife in its train." (Jennings)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Here we reach an interpretive crossroads of the Book of Revelation. You can tell much about how a person understands this book and God's prophetic plan by seeing how they understand this first rider. Those who think Revelation is mostly a book of <i>history</i> believe that this rider is Jesus, the apostles, or the Roman emperors. Those who believe that this is a <i>prophetic</i> passage, yet to be fulfilled, often account this rider to be the antichrist.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">He <span>went out conquering and to conquer</span></span></b>: This final satanic dictator over men will be the more terrible than all previous dictators were. He will rule over men as a false Messiah, and lead man in organized rebellion against God, in the pattern of Nimrod, his first predecessor. He is the one often called the antichrist.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The idea of a satanic dictator over men goes back all the way to Nimrod, the ruler over Babel in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',10,'8-14');">Gen 10:8-14</a>, where it says he was a <i>mighty hunter before the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i>. This has the sense that he was a mighty hunter of <i>men</i>, and that he did this offensively in the face of God.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. Today's political and social scene is certainly set for the emergence of such a political leader. All that waits is for the Lord to allow it in His timing after He takes His church from this earth.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <i>And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('2Th',2,'6-7');">2Th 2:6-7</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Significantly, the <i>first</i> seal opened brings this dictator to prominence. We understand that the seventieth week of <a onclick="return mV('Dan',9,'1-');">Dan 9</a> begins when this dictator will <i>confirm a covenant with </i>[the]<i> many</i>, referring to the Jewish people.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Many wonder if these four horsemen of <a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'1-');">Rev 6</a> are connected with the seventieth week of Daniel and the great tribulation itself, or with the course of history up until that time. This initial emergence of the antichrist, connected with what we know about this leader from <a onclick="return mV('Dan',9,1);">Dan 9</a> shows that these four horsemen are connected with Daniel's seventieth week and the great tribulation.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'3-4');">3-4</a>) The red horse brings war and conflict.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that <i>people </i>should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth</span></b><span>: This rider doesn't need to <i>bring</i></span> war and destruction. All he needs to do is <b><i><span class="c3">take</span></i><span class="c3"> peace from the earth</span></b>. Once this <b><span class="c3">peace</span></b> - God's gift to man - is taken, men rush in with war and destruction.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Peace between men and nations is a gift from God. It is not the <i>natural</i> state of relations between men.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And it was granted</span></b>: This authority is <b><span class="c3">granted</span></b> to the horseman. This is, directly or indirectly, the judgment of God.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">That people should kill one another</span></b>: We live in the age of war and conflict. Since World War II, there have been more than 150 wars of one kind or another on the earth, and at and given time there may be some three dozen armed conflicts taking thousands of lives yearly. The nations of the world often spend more than $1 trillion on military expenditures a year.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'5-6');">5-6</a>) The black horse brings scarcity and inequity.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">A black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand</span></b><span>: </span>The scales symbolize the need to carefully measure and ration food. This speaks of a time of <i>scarcity</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius</span></b><span>:</span> These prices are about twelve times higher than normal. It means that it would cost a day's wage to buy the ingredients for a loaf of bread. This describes "a time of famine when life will be reduced to the barest necessities." (Walvoord)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. We often see great famine in the world today, yet fewer people suffer from hunger today than 100 years ago. However, understanding the ecological balance, it would not take much to plunge many into the kind of scarcity and inequity mentioned here.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Do not harm the oil and the wine</span></b><span>: </span>Yet, the nicer things will be available for those who can afford them. There will still be <b><span class="c3">the oil and the wine</span></b> that should not be harmed.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'7-8');">7-8</a>) The pale horse brings death.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">A pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death</span></b><span>: This last rider shows that t</span>here will be a tremendous death toll from the dictatorship, war, famine and other calamities described by the previous three horsemen.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Our century has seen hundreds of millions killed by dictators, war, and famine. Yet this will pale in comparison to the death toll coming in the wake of this ultimate dictator. No wonder Jesus said of this time <i>For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',24,21);">Mat 24:21</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill</span></b><span>: </span>Power is <b><span class="c3">given</span></b> to the horseman, and <b><span class="c3">given</span></b> by God. Though all hell is breaking loose on the earth, God is very much in control. He still holds the scroll and opens the seals.</p>
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<p>B. The fifth and sixth seals of the scroll are opened.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'9-11');">9-11</a>) The fifth seal brings forth the cry of the martyrs.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both <i>the number of </i>their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they <i>were, </i>was completed.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God</span></b><span>: </span>That these souls are <i>under the altar</i> emphasizes that their life blood was poured out as an offering to God. The idea is drawn from <a onclick="return mV('Lev',4,7);">Lev 4:7</a>: <i>And he shall pour the remaining blood at the base of the altar of the burnt offering</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who had been slain for the word of God</span></b>: It is probably best to see this as the cry of <i>all</i> martyrs for God's truth, not merely believers persecuted by the coming world leader, the first horseman of <a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'1-2');">Rev 6:1-2</a>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">And they cried with a loud voice</span></b><span>: These souls in heaven </span>cry out for vengeance (<b><span class="c3">until You judge and avenge our blood</span></b><span>). We usually don't think of God's people crying out for vengeance, but they make their cry to God, and leave the matter with Him.</span></p>
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<p class="c5">i. When God's people are persecuted, He will set it right. It isn't wrong for God's people to ask Him to do what He promised to do. So the blood of Abel cried out from the ground for vengeance (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',4,10);">Gen 4:10</a>), as did the blood of unavenged murders in the land of Israel (<a onclick="return mV('Num',35,33);">Num 35:33</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">It was said to them that they should rest a little while longer</span></b><span>:</span> These saints are instructed to <i>wait</i>. How long do they wait? <b><span class="c3">Until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed</span></b>. This may mean that they should wait until <i>all</i> God's appointed martyrs are killed. </p>
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<p class="c5">i. Or, because the words <b><span class="c3">the number of</span></b> are supplied by the translators, not the text, it may mean that they wait until the <i>character</i> of the remaining martyrs on earth is perfected and complete. It is the way that you <i>live</i> that makes you a martyr, not the way that you <i>die</i>.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',6,'12-17');">12-17</a>) The opening of the sixth seal brings cosmic disruption.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>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. 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. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 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?"</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">A great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth</span></b><span>: </span>In the Bible, celestial disturbances are often connected with the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Zephaniah and Jesus Himself all describe such things.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. A passage from Zephaniah is an example: <i>The great day of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Zep',1,'14-16');">Zep 1:14-16</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Or, as in <a onclick="return mV('Joe',2,'10-11');">Joe 2:10-11</a>: <i>The sun and moon grow dark, and stars diminish their brightness...for the day of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> is great and terrible; who can endure it?</i></p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Those who regard these events as <i>history</i> have to spiritualize them. One example is Adam Clarke, who says this <b><span class="c3">great earthquake</span></b> is "A most stupendous change in the civil and religious constitution of the world. If it refer to Constantine the Great, the change that was made by his conversion to Christianity might be very properly represented under the emblem of an <i>earthquake</i>."</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth</span></b>: It is best to regard these pictures as <i>real</i>, but <i>poetic</i>. John isn't using technically precise scientific language, but he simply describes what he saw.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">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</span></b><span>: </span>All people are equally brought low by God's wrath. The judgment is all the more profound because it is the <b><span class="c3">wrath of the Lamb</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "It is the wrath of love, the wrath of sacrificial love which, having done the absolute utmost for us and our salvation, tells us as nothing else could the certainty with which evil awaits its doom at the hand of God." (Torrance)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne</span></b><span>: </span>They hide not only from the terror of the judgments, but <b><span class="c3">from the face of Him who sits on the throne</span></b>. "What sinners dread most is not death, but the revealed presence of God." (Swete)</p>
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<p>C. Observations: How do the seals fit in God's prophetic plan?</p>
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<p class="c1">1. There are many different opinions, but it seems best to say that the seals, trumpets, and bowls that will be described later are not strictly sequential events. Chronologically, the trumpets do not follow the seals and the bowls do not follow the trumpets.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. The first six seals are "a summary of the judgments distributed over the whole book; a brief summary of what will occur in 'the day of the Lord,' up the time of His actual Apocalypse or Unveiling in chapter 19." (Bullinger)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. That span begins with the revelation of the Antichrist (the first seal) and it concludes with the revealing of the <i>face of Him who sits on the throne</i> (the seventh seal).</p>
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<p class="c1">2. Do the seals represent conditions <i>immediately before</i> the end, or more <i>general conditions</i> prevailing over a more extended period, up until the return of Jesus?</p>
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<p class="c4">a. There is a sense in which we can say that the they represent <i>both</i> - dictators, war, famine, death and persecution have been familiar throughout all history, but not to the <i>magnitude</i> and <i>severity</i> with which they will be present in the Great Tribulation.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. "The wars and famines predicted in the second and third seals are not unfamiliar events in the history of the world, but never before since the time of Noah has a judgment so devastating been consummated as to destroy one-fourth of the earth's population at one stroke." (Walvoord)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. As far as the seals are concerned, they will be an <i>intense amplification</i> of "business as usual." God will give mankind over to his fallen nature - <i>and more!</i></p>
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<p class="c5">i. This is not the case with some of the trumpet and bowl judgments of later chapters. They are completely unique manifestations of God's judgment.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. The sixth seal concludes with a valid question: <i>Who is able to stand?</i> Only the believer can stand before this great judgment, the one who is justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <i>Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Rom',5,'1-2');">Rom 5:1-2</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <i>I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Cr',15,1);">1Cr 15:1</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <i>Testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Pe',5,12);">1Pe 5:12</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. The believer can stand in the face of this great wrath of God because Jesus already bore the wrath the believer deserved.</p>
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