Previous verse Next verse1. And I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come."
And I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, andThe Lamb has taken the book, Revelation 5:7, from the One on the THRONE and has opened the first seal.
I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder,One of the living creatures said "COME"...it could have been the first one, the one like a lion, because the next three "COMEs" are identified specifically as second through fourth living creatures. On the other hand, from this verse, one cannot say that the order in which the living creatures are described (Revelation 4:7) is the order in which they speak.
"COME."
However, a definite transition is occurring. The booming, thunderous voice breaks the praise and worship service which has been going on (chapters 4 and 5). Some Bible scholars indicate that the word "COME" could be translated "GO FORTH". This "GO FORTH" would be more appropriate in sending off the four horsemen in the following verses. Incidentally, symbollically, a thunderous voice usually is associated with impending judgment.
Many expositors believe this chapter begins the seven year period known as "The Tribulation". This period has been equated with Daniel 9:24-27's one week; with the time of Jacob's distress, Jeremiah 30:4-9; and with the destruction of the nations who are enemies of God, Isaiah 34:1-8. What we see described as happening on the earth really is initiated in heaven with THE BREAKING OF THE BOOK'S SEALS.
Previous verse Next verse2. And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer.
And I looked, and BEHOLD, a white horse, andRecall that when BEHOLD is used, John, the author and the one "looking", is seeing something amazing. This implies we are entering a new vision sequence.
This sequence contains four horsemen. This may parallel the vision of chariots drawn by these same colored horses in Zechariah 6:1-8. If so, the implication here is that the whole earth will be affected by these four horsemen. This appears to be the concensus among expositors.
A horse symbolizes a mobile judgment. That is, this judgment may be progressive or continously moving across the earth. If we look at the consequences of the four horsemen, they are progressive hardships like hostilities, famine, weighing of nations (peoples), and wild beast attacks. Contrast this with "instantaneous" events such as lightning and earthquakes etc.
Christ is the rider.
This is the same rider seen in Revelation 19:11,19.
He is armed with a bow only (no arrows). This fulfills prophecy given
in
Habakkuk
3:9. Furthermore, crowns normally
are given to victors or overcomers. Remember that in the last church,
Laodicea.
the overcomers were granted the right to sit down in victory on His
throne,
Revelation 3:21.
This view also holds that the terrible things which are to happen to this earth are preceded and ended with the white horse rider. This fits with "the Alpha and Omega" concept - Revelation 22:13.
The devil (deceiver) is the rider.
Holders of this view believe this horseman along with the other three
are just instruments of judgments. In this view, the bow (without
arrows)
would just be a deterrant like nuclear force or star wars or some such.
It is not used often but threatened. This is how "conquering; and to
conquer"
could be interpreted. The BOW could be that held by Gog (Russia???) as
prophesied in Ezekiel
39:1-6, and this
bow is knocked from the left hand (at some later time?).
The crown may just indicate political authority.
The "conquering; and to conquer" may be interpreted as the deception of the church - Matthew 24:5 and Matthew 24:24. If this view is valid, this would indicate that the devil has conquered some churches (congregations) without firing a shot (no arrows, remember). How sad to see a defeated group of "believers" who just want to live in peace with an unbelieving world!
This is a continuous conflict, even in the Revelation; see Revelation 12:17.
The only problem with this view is that it does not make sense to have the four living creatures calling forth these four horsemen if they are the devil and/or his cohorts. Angelic beings are created to worship and praise God; not given to call out or cause evil deception. Even the two beasts in Revelation 13 only have diadems written on horns and no crowns are indicated for them.
Previous verse Next verse3. And when He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
And when He broke the second seal,Since the breaking of the seals are listed individually, this indicates that these seals are a series of events to take place on the earth (only place where time really has any meaning; in heaven, time is forever and ever -- Revelation 4:9).
I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."It is not clear if this second creature is the same as the second one described with a calf's face (Revelation 4:7). If there is a connection between the demeanor (calf/ox/servantry} and the red horse (war and bloodshed), it cannot be made with any conviction. When peace is taken, war abounds, and war certainly makes servants of those remain alive. The dead in a war don't care.
Previous verse Next verse4. And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men should slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
And another, A RED HORSE, went out;The RED symbolizes bloodshed, as we shall see
Previous verse Next verse5. And when He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come." And I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
And when He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come."The third living creature has the face of the man if this is the third living creature in Revelation 4:7. Again the same command is "Come" This implies that the living creature leads these horses and their riders into doing their terrible deeds. And this terrible deed will affect all of humanity, as we shall see!
And I looked, and BEHOLD, a BLACK HORSE;The color BLACK is associated with famine; Lamentations 4:1-12 indicates the skin becomes 'blacker than soot'. Christ indicated that famines were to be a part of the tribulation: Compared to the bow (first horse) and the great sword (second horse), the scales look tame; BUT rationing food can sometimes be the cruelest weapon. It was foretold by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 4:10,16-17, and has been used many times throughout history to defeat, or at least soften, an enemy.
and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
Hunger also is a form of torture. Lamentations 5:1-18 shows that one could kill just to get someone else's bread. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:1-9) pleads for mercy from the drought, and as in his time, it will be now, God's judgment will carry on.
It is interesting that, apparently, the conflict brought about by the second horse, is brought to a quick end by the third horse and its rider. It is hard to kill and fight on when one is too weak from hunger.
Previous verse Next verse6. And I heard as it were a voice in the center 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."
And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four LIVING CREATURES saying,The charge is given to the third horseman from the midst of the four living creatures. Since they surround the THRONE, it is the ONE who sits on the THRONE who gives this charge. God Himself is speaking.
"A quart of wheat for a denarius,A denarius was roughly equivalent to a day's wages. And the quart of wheat or three quarts of barley the equilavent of daily food consumption. This, then, says that during the "famine", all our wages would go to feed us. No more luxury living!
and three quarts of barley for a denarius;
and do not harm the oil and the wine."This has been interpreted several different ways by Bible scholars. On a purely physical level, it would indicate that the rich will still have their luxuries; on a symbolic and spiritual level, this would indicate that the Holy Spirit should still be permitted to do His functions on the earth.
Oil was used extensively in the tabernacle. Olive oil was the oil in the temple lamps, Exodus 27:20-21. And the lamp was to burn continuously. Thus one could say that the churches will be thriving during this time.
In Jesus time, oil and wine was used as medical treatment when one was injured. This was the case in the "Good Samaritan" discussion, Luke 10:25-34-37. The suffering during the famine certainly could be eased by the oil and wine.
Previous verse Next verse7. And when He broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come."
And when He broke the fourth seal,As each of these seals are broken, more of the righteous judgment of God is revealed. This is what Paul was refering to in Romans 2:5. That the seals must be broken, there is no question. God is totally HOLY and RIGHTEOUS. Anything UNHOLY must be purged. The breaking of the fourth seal is part of the purging process.
I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come."If the fourth living creature is the same as the fourth living creature described in Revelation 4:7, then this judgment will be brought about swiftly as an eagle swoops down and brings quick death to its prey. However, there may be some mercy in this, in that, death probably is preferred over lingering in war and famine.
Previous verse Next verse8. And I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. And authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
And I looked, and BEHOLD, an ashen (pale green) horse;An interesting contrast between healthy green (LIFE) and deathly green.
and he who sat on it had the name DEATH;The wages in Romans 6:23 are being paid by this horseman.
and HADES was following with him.It is not clear what HADES is. If DEATH is personified, then HADES is something ... like another horseman, dog etc. What can be said is that to a human, DEATH is a very personal thing. It happens (or will happen if we aren't gathered up, 1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Clearly, however, this is a judgment against unbelievers since HADES is right there to clean up after DEATH. All this is under the control of the One who broke the seal, Revelation 1:18 and Matthew 10:28.
and AUTHORITY was given to themThis includes everything ... living things, people, plants, animals as well as natural resources, the sea, the atmosphere. This is only one judgment but a quarter of the earth is affected. Those remaining have more to look forward to.
(DEATH and HADES) over a FOURTH of the earth,
to KILL
Previous verse Next verse9. And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;
And when He broke the FIFTH SEAL,These are most commonly believed to be those martyred during the tribulation period but it may include ALL martyrs since Christ's resurrection.
I saw underneath the ALTAR the SOULS
of those who had been SLAIN
The expression "under the alter" places this part of the vision in heaven. Recall that the four horsemen under the previous four seals were sent to the earth. There is a symbolic parallel in the Old Testament sacrifices (and the blood related to that) in Leviticus 17:8-16.
It is clear from the use of "the Word of God" and "testimony" that belivers will not be killed because of their 'title' such as 'I am a Christian' or 'I am a church member at ...'. These martyrs MUST HAVE KNOWN the Word of God, and they did TESTIFY to Christ's redeeming power.
Just because the believers are removed in the uptaking, does not mean that there may not be others who will read the Word from the 1000s of Bibles left behind, video tapes left behind, and even this exposition which will be left behind. Even some of the false prophets and false teachers may realize, repent, and believe; these may be among the martyrs.
Previous verse Next verse10. And they cried out with a loud voice, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
and they cried out with a loud voice, sayingThese are those souls under the alter in verse 9 who were killed for the Word and their testimony.
"How long, O LORD,This term, O LORD, denotes the Soverign Lord
holy and true,This is the same description of Jesus given by the angel to the church in Philadelphia, Revelation 3:7.
wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our bloodThis is not earthly hateful revenge. These souls are in heaven, pure and bought, BUT God's righteousness demands evil to be judged. The curious thing about this portion is that, even in heaven, the souls do NOT know when God will perform this vengence. This is to say, both heaven occupants and earth occupants do NOT know when these seals will be broken. We do know, however, that God's timing is always perfect!
on those who dwell on the earth?
Previous verse Next verse11. And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.
And there was given to each of them a white robe;The white robes are symbolic of their righteous deeds and imputed righteousness by their faith in Christ. We see these souls again in Revelation 7:9. Here they are given their robes; in chapter 7, they are standing around the throne in their white robes giving honor and praise to the One whose blood 'washed their robes', Revelation 7:14.
From physics, white light is the combination of all the colors of light; in a sense, white denotes all radiated energy. This indicates that heaven, since white is the prevalent color, may be a very large concentration of energy. We also know that when material is in close proximity to a source of energy that some of that energy is gained by the material. An example of this is heating a rod of iron; the longer it stays in "the fire" the "whiter" it glows.
So, too, after Moses came back to earth after talking with God, he had to place a veil over his face to not frighten the people, Exodus 34:29-35. When Christ was transfigured before the three disciples, Mark 9:2-8, Christ's garments became radiant and "exceedingly white". Everyone who has had a glimpse of the radiance and majesty comes away TOTALLY changed (2 Peter 1:16-18). Are you looking forward to an encounter like this?
and they were toldWhat is time to an eternal God? So a little while longer may be a long time for us.
that they should rest a little while longer,
UNTIL - the number of
Previous verse Next verse12. And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;
And I looked when He broke the sixth seal,
When God moves to "talk" to people, these types of natural phenomena appear (Exodus 19:16-25). Also note that repentance and consecration are required before entering the presence of God.
The Old Testament prophets also saw, in visions and dreams, similar events. Jesus refers to the signs to take place in the sun, moon, and stars. Here are a few references:
Previous verse Next verse13. and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
and the STARS of the sky FELL to the earth,Stars, from a Revelation perspective, are any space objects other than the sun and moon. They may literally be the stars we see at night (hot gaseous bodies like our sun) or planets or comets or other unheated objects. Since this verse is a continuation of the previous verse, this implies that some of the STARS are massive enough that they are not entirely burned up in the atmosphere before striking the earth.
Our astromoners tell us that there is a band of asteroids near the outer rim of our solar system which may have eccentric enough orbits such that a cluster of asteroids would intercept the earth's orbit. Even though space is almost empty, our moon's surface and its many crater pock marks indicate that collisions between orbiting bodies is not that rare. It appears that this is what this broken seal is describing.
as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.While the fig tree in scripture has many symbolic meanings, here it is used as the common example of the impact or force with which the STARS will collide with the earth. This is part of the 'shaking' the prophet Haggai refers to, Haggai 2:1-9.
This portion of the verse also indicates that there will be an excessive wind (globally) generated from the impacts. This seems reasonable in light of our experiences with manmade and natural explosions (like Mount St. Helens, for example, where trees were knocked down for miles around the mountain). Hundreds even thousands of miles from the impact site, the 'ping of unripe figs' will be felt. With an impact this large, large chunks of the earth's surface would be dislodged and propelled to such heights that these chunks will fall back to earth miles from the 'zero ground'. Each of these chunks would then cause its own mini crater and dust plume. Hence, worldwide the sun can be made dark and the moon look like blood.
Previous verse Next verse14. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And
Previous verse Next verse15. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;
It is interesting to note that there is no repentance in these peoples wish; they just want to hide. This would indicate that they have made the choice to NOT follow Jesus. And if there are believers during this terrible event, they can be assured that God is still the same (Psalm 102:23-28). The earth may wear out as a garment, Isaiah 51:4-6-8, but 'My salvation is forever'. This event will occur as prophesied, Isaiah 13:9-13.
Be aware, though, this is not just a terrible event; it is testing of things which can be shaken. In Hebrews 12:18-28-29, the things which CANNOT be shaken are those which matter. They are an acceptable service with reverence and awe.
Previous verse Next verse16. and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
and they said to the mountains and to the rocks,
"Fall on us and HIDE us
Sin always causes man to want to HIDE from GOD. Just trying to hide from GOD causes distress as Israel found out in Hosea10:8-10. It is clear that as Christ was on the way to Calvary and His earthly death, this retribution was on His mind. He quotes from this same Hosea passage of scripture, Luke 23:28-31. He was/is fully aware of what Calvary means and its place among the seven seals of Revelation.
The wrath of the Lamb appears to be a contradiction. How can a lamb, meek and docile, display wrath? (John 5:26-27). From here on, the "Wrath of the Lamb" is a recurring theme. Look for it!
Previous verse Next verse17. for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?"
for