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Commentary on Revelation

Chapter 6

The vision of the seven seals

The first seal: the white horse

Rev. 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say, as with a voice of thunder, "Come!" 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Seals keep things closed and hidden. Tearing off a seal uncovers and reveals what is to come. Only the Lamb is worthy to open the seals (5:5). The creature speaks "with a voice of thunder" indicating perhaps that these seals contain judgments from God. Who is the rider on the white horse? Opinions range from Christ to the antichrist. I believe the rider is Jesus. This rider opens the entire affair because he is in charge of the whole affair. He is the conqueror. Not only is Jesus a conqueror but Christians then and now are conquerors. Recall Rom. 8:37 - "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us." He wears a crown because he has overcome. His white horse symbolizes victory. The picture of a rider with a bow on a white horse was a common portrayal of a Parthian warrior. In 53 B.C. the Parthians had killed 20,000 Romans. This image of the conquering Christ may have been particularly meaningful to the Romans. Why not the antichrist? The color white is used in 15 other places in the book and always carries moral overtones. Jesus rides on a white horse in 19:11. The word conquer refers to Christ and Christians everywhere else in the book except for 11:7 and 13:7. But doesn't the first horse cause the strife and famine which follows? Maybe, but nothing says that the first seal causes the other seals. Anyway, recall Matthew 10:34 - "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword." One last possibility: The horse might represent the Gospel. This would fit in well with the next 3 horses which as we will see represent historical forces.

The second seal: the red horse

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 4 And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a great sword.

This horse represents war. The wars in this book seriously affect the welfare of God's people. 2 Timothy 3:12 indicates that persecution always follows Christ: "Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." This war is unrelated to the wars discussed in Matt. 24:6 - "wars and rumors of wars." Recall: Similarity of speech does not prove identity of subject.

The third seal: the black horse

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand; 6 and I heard what seemed to be 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; but do not harm oil and wine!"

This horse represents famine and economic hardship. A balance was used to weigh food. Ezekiel 4:16 predicts famine by saying that the people would eat bread by weight and with fearfulness. A denarius was a day's wages. "Do not harm oil and wine" indicates that this famine was not too extreme. Food is still available to be weighed. This horse was told not to do too much. Things will get much worse later when the bowls are poured out.

The fourth seal: the pale horse

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" 8 And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him; and they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

This horse represents death. Revelation regards both death and Hades as defeated enemies who must do what the Lamb bids. The word pale comes from Chloros which means yellow-green. Compare Ezekiel 14:12-23 with regard to the sword, the famine, the pestilence, and the wild beasts. In Ez. 14:21 they are called God's four deadly acts of judgment. That only 1/4th perish indicates that this judgment is neither final nor complete.

The fifth seal: the martyrs

9 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 witness they had borne; 10 they cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

The testimony for which these souls had been martyred was the testimony of Jesus. (Compare 1:2; 12:17; 14:12; and 19:10.) The white robes reflect their righteous deeds. (Compare 3:4 and 19:8.) They ask how long it would be before they were avenged. Their plea is one for divine retribution. This question is one of the key passages in the book. They asked "How long" and Jesus answered quickly in 1:1; 1:3; 22:6; and 22:10. What support is there for stating that nothing in the book has been fulfilled yet? They are told to rest a little longer. God had a plan and they needed to wait until the time was right for their vindication. The wait however would not be for very long. The enemy was to have a position of power over them for a short time. Compare Isaiah 33:1 where God told Assyria, "When you have finished destroying, I will destroy you." Also, in Daniel 11:36,45 we are told that the king of the North (Rome) would prosper then be destroyed. The cry for vindication rises from their blood. Compare Gen. 4:10 - "Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground." The blood of the martyrs could not go unanswered. There was a moral necessity for judgment and retribution. This plea was not prompted by vindictiveness but by the fact that we live in a moral universe which demands judgment and retribution for sin.

The sixth seal: signs in the heavens

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; 14 the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?"

This seal represents the wrath of the Lamb and the judgment of the ungodly. It does not represent the end of time. The language used in this passage is a mosaic of phrases used in the Old Testament to describe past judgments against Assyria, Egypt, Edom, and other enemies of God.

1. Burning fire and brimstone: See Isaiah 34:9.

2. Blacking of the sun: See Joel 2:31.

3. Staggering of earth and mountains: See Jer. 4:23-25.

4. Removing of heavens: See Isaiah 34:4-6. Compare Matthew 24:29, 34.

The manifestation of God at Sinai caused a literal trembling of a mountain. This then became a symbol for the manifestation of God's holiness. Mic. 1:4 - The mountains will melt. Isaiah 13:13 - The earth will be shaken out of its place. When the ungodly are dominant and oppressive the world is said to be theirs. Isaiah 13:11 - "I will punish the world for its evil." 2 Peter 2:5 - He brought the flood upon "the world of the ungodly." Thus, the picture is one of God dismantling and attacking his world and it symbolizes God's judgment upon the ungodly. He used the same language against the Babylonians. Was it literal? No. The Babylonians are gone yet the earth remains. The search for a hiding place in verse 16 is also seen in Isaiah 2. This seal represents a judgment from which, as we will see, the Saints will be exempt. The language is taken, among other places, from:

1. Isaiah 13 - a judgment on Babylon through the Medes.

2. Isaiah 34 - a judgment against Edom.

3. Joel 2 - a judgment on the Jews which Peter says was fulfilled in the first century.

The "Wrath of the Lamb" is one of the most fearful expressions in the book.