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READ EXCERPT FROM REVELATION CHAPTER FIVE BELOW
OR GO TO REV CHAPTER SIX 
Revelation 5:1-14 (NASB)
1 I saw in the right hand of
Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with
seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to
break its seals?"
3 And no one in heaven or on
the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
4 Then I began to weep
greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
5 and one of the elders *said
to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven
seals."
6 And I saw between the
throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if
slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God,
sent out into all the earth.
7 And He came and took the
book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 When He had taken the book,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,
each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers
of the saints.
9 And they *sang a new song,
saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You
were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe
and tongue and people and nation.
10 "You have made them to
be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the
earth."
11 Then I looked, and I heard
the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the
elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of
thousands,
12 saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom
and might and honor and glory and blessing."
13 And every created thing
which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all
things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the
Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and
ever."
14 And the four living
creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and
worshiped."
EXPOSITOR’S on Rev 5.
1 "I saw in the right hand of
Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with
seven seals.."
"b. The Scroll and the Lamb (5:1-14).
1
This chapter is part of the vision that begins at chapter 4 and continues
through the opening of the seven seals (6:1-8:1;
cf. comments in introduction to ch. 4). Its center of gravity lies in the three
hymns (vv. 9,
12, 13 of chapter 5).
These are addressed to the Lamb.
They beautifully combine the worship of the Lamb (hymns one and two) with the worship of the one who sits on the throne (hymn three, which is addressed to both God and the Lamb). The movement of the whole scene focuses on the slain Lamb as he takes the scroll from the hand of the one on the throne. The actions of all other participants are described in terms of worship directed to the Lamb and the one on the throne. The culminating emphasis is on the worthiness of the Lamb to receive worship because of His death.
John sees "in the right hand of
him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with
seven seals." This raises a problem involving the phrase "with
writing on both sides." Papyrus codices (which were like books as we know
them) did not originate until the second century A.D., or perhaps the late
first century (Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament 2d ed.
[Oxford: Clarendon, 1964], p. 6). In ancient times, papyrus rolls were used for
public and private documents. Usually the writing was on one side only—the
inside part, arranged in successive vertical columns. Occasionally a scroll was
written on both sides; in that case it was called an "opisthograph."
Such double-sided writing was for private, nonsalable use in contrast to the
usual scrolls written on only one side, which were sold (Edward Maunde
Thompson, An Introduction to Greek and Latin Paleography [Oxford:
Clarendon, 1912], pp. 49-50). In the context of chapter 5, an opisthograph
would signify a scroll full of words. The importance of establishing the scroll
rather than codex character of the document lies in the interpretation of the
opening of the seals. If the book was a codex, the seals could have been opened
one at a time and portions of the book disclosed; a scroll, however, could be
opened only after all the seals were broken.
Scrolls, or folded sheets, were
sealed with wax blobs impressed with a signet ring to protect the contents or
guarantee the integrity of the writing. Only the owner could open the seals and
disclose the contents. Original documents were usually sealed; copies were not.
Sealed documents were kept hidden while unsealed copies were made public (Rev 22:10)
(TDNT, 7:941ff.).
The phrase "with writing on
both sides" (gegrammenon esothen kai opisthen) is literally
"written inside and on the back side," where "on the back
side" (opisthen) is generally understood as going with
"written" (gegrammenon). Zahn, however, argues that "back
side" (opisthen) should go with the verb "sealed" (katesphragismenon)
and not with "written" (Theodore Zahn, Introduction to the New
Testament, 3 vols. [Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1953], 3.405-6). While tempting
and grammatically possible, Zahn's view has not found acceptance among
exegetes; and the adverbial use of opisthen in the rest of Revelation
and the NT favors taking it always with a preceding rather than a following
verb.
As to the identity and significance
of the scroll, there are a number of different views.
1. Ancient Roman wills or
"testaments" were sealed with six seals, each of which bore a
different name of the sealer and could only be opened by him (TDNT, 7:941).
This has led some to identify the scroll as the testament of God concerning the
promise of the inheritance of his future kingdom (Zahn, NT Introduction,
3:395-96). A slight variation of this view refers the scene to the Roman law of
mancipatio. Under this law an heir received either an inheritance at the
death of the testator or the use of mancipatio in connection with
transference of the inheritance to an executor, known as the familiae empto.
The executor could use the property till the death of the testator, at which
time he was obligated to distribute the possessions in accordance with the
instructions of the testator (Emmet Russell, A Roman Law Parallel to Revelation
Five," BS, 115 [1958], 258-64).
2. Others find the scroll
containing, like Ezekiel's scroll, "words of lament and mourning and
woe" (Ezek 2:9-10) and depicting the future judgment of
the world (Walvoord, p. 113).
3.
Still others find the
significance to be
the progressive unfolding of the history of the world. As
each successive seal is opened, the further contents of the book are
revealed.
J.A. Seiss (The Apocalypse [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1957], p. 112)
connects the scroll with a "title-deed" Jer 32:10-14).
It is the "title-deed" to creation that was forfeited by sin in
Genesis. By his redeeming death Christ has won the authority to reclaim the
earth.
4. A more recent study finds the
scroll to be the OT Torah (Law) (Lucetta Mowry, "Revelation 4-5 and Early
Christian Liturgical Usage," JBL, 71 [1952], 75-84).
Each of these views has merit and
may provide elements of truth for the background of the striking imagery in
these chapters. Yet each view is vulnerable to criticism. Only from Revelation
itself can the content and nature of the scroll be determined. Since the seals
hinder the opening of the scroll till they are all broken, we may assume that
the seals are preparatory to the opening of the scroll and the disclosure of
its contents. This means that the seals have the effect of hiding the contents
of the scroll till they are broken (Isa 29:11).
The following internal evidence
relating to the contents of the scroll may be noted:
1. Just prior to the opening of the
seventh seal, in connection with the events under the sixth seal, we read,
"For the great day of their [i.e., of the One sitting on the throne and
the Lamb] wrath has come, and who can stand?" (6:17).
2. When the seventh seal is opened (8:1-5),
no immediate events as such follow on earth—except for the earthquake—as in the
first six seals, unless the opening of the seventh seal includes among its
events the blowing of the seven trumpets of judgment (8:6-11:15).
This appears to be precisely the case.
3. The seventh trumpet likewise is
not immediately followed by any specific events on earth (11:15ff.),
except for an earthquake and a hailstorm (11:19).
However, just before the seventh trumpet is sounded, we read, "The second
woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon" (11:14).
When the seven angels prepare to pour out "the seven last plagues,"
symbolized by the bowls, we read that with these bowls God's wrath is
completed" (15:1,
7).
Thus it seems reasonable to identify the content of the seventh trumpet with
the seven bowls of judgment (chs. 16-19).
Furthermore, frequent references to
the events of the seals, trumpets, and bowls appear throughout the remaining
visions in Revelation (cf. 19:19ff.;
20:4;
21:9),
indicating that the content of the seven-sealed scroll ultimately includes the
unfolding of the consummation of the mystery of all things, the goal or end of
all history, for both the conquerors and the worshipers of the beast. In 10:7
we are told that in the days of the sounding of the seventh trumpet "the
mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the
prophets." From this it may be concluded that the scroll contains the
unveiling of "the mystery of God" that OT prophets foretold (cf.
comments at 10:7).
Thus the "seals" conceal the mystery, which only Christ can disclose
(Dan 12:9;
Rev 10:4),
of how God's judgment and his kingdom will come. In 11:15,
when the final trumpet sounds, heavenly voices say, "The kingdom of the
world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ," indicating
that the scroll also contains the announcement of the inheritance of Christ and
the saints who will reign with him (5:10).
The scroll, then, is not only about
judgment or about the inheritance of the kingdom. Rather, it contains the
announcement of the consummation of all history—how things will ultimately end
for all people: judgment for the world and the final reward of the saints (11:18).
Christ alone, as the Messiah, is the executor of the purposes of God and the
heir of the inheritance of the world. He obtained this by his substitutionary
and propitiatory death on the cross (5:9).
2-4
A mighty angel shouts out a challenge for anyone to come forth who is
"worthy" to open the great scroll and its seals. All creation in
heaven and earth and under the earth stood motionless and speechless. No one
was worthy to open the scroll, i.e., no one had the authority and virtue for
such a task. If the scroll contains both the revelation and the carrying out of
the final drama of history, then John's despair can be appreciated. In this
vision, the execution of events on earth is ascribed to the Lamb. As the seals
are broken and the roll opened, salvation history unfolds till history
culminates in the kingdom reign of the Messiah over the whole earth. History,
then has its center in Jesus Christ and its goal in his triumphant reign over
all the powers of the world.
5
John's sorrow is assuaged. One of the elders announces that there is one who
has "triumphed" (nikao, "overcome,"
"conquer," "win a victory"—same word as 2:7;
3:21;
et al.). He has triumphed because of his death (v. 9).
Two figurative titles are used of the one who is worthy—"the Lion of the
tribe of Judah" and "the Root of David." Both are familiar OT
messianic titles (Gen 49:9-10;
cf. Isa 11:1,
10;
Jer 23:5;
33:5;
Rev 22:16).
But they are linked together only here and in the Qumran literature (cf. 4Q
Patriarchal Blessings; L. Paul Trudinger, "Some Observations Concerning
the Text of the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation," JTS, 17 [1966],
88). In Jewish apocalyptic literature contemporary with John, the figure of a
lion was used to designate the conquering Messiah who would destroy Rome (4
Ezra 11:58). Close attention should be paid to John's understanding of the role
and function of the Messiah, observing where it is similar to the Jewish
understanding of the Messiah and where it differs from it.
6
As John looked to see the mighty Lion (the conquering warrior-Messiah from the
Root of David), he saw instead the striking figure of a "Lamb" (arnion,
"a young sheep") as if it had been slaughtered, standing in the
center of the throne court. This new figure portrays sacrificial death and
links the Messiah to the OT passover lamb (Exod 12:5f.; Isa 53:7;
John 1:29,
36;
Acts 8:32;
1 Peter 1:19).
Here John joins the OT royal Davidic Messiah with the Suffering Servant of
Isaiah (Isa 42-53).
Both prophetic themes come together in Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah.
"As if it had been slain" (esphagmenon, "with its throat
cut") could refer to the "marks of death" the living Lamb still
bore or to his appearance "as if being led to the slaughter," i.e.,
"marked out for death" (Minear, I Saw a New Earth, in loc. ).
The "lamb" metaphor dominates John's thought in the rest of the book
(e.g., 6:1ff.;
7:9ff.;
12:11;
13:8;
21:9).
John notices that the Lamb who bears
the marks of death is also the ruler who bears the signs of the fullness of
divine omnipotence, dominion, and omniscience ("seven horns and seven
eyes"). Following Charles, Mounce (Revelation, p. 145) suggests
that the figure of a lamb with seven horns is undoubtedly drawn from the
apocalyptic tradition, citing 1 Enoch 90:9 (the Maccabees are symbolized by
"horned lambs") and the Testament of Joseph (T Jos 19:8-9—a
lamb destroys the enemies of Israel). However, the Enoch passage bears
little relationship to the messianic Lamb as portrayed in Revelation, and the
Testament of Joseph is notorious for Christian interpolations. Since the lamb
image is used by the fourth Gospel to depict the Suffering Messiah in passages
where apocalyptic connections would be quite remote, it may still be better to
connect the lamb vocabulary to the OT Passover motif and Isaiah's Suffering
Servant (Isa 53:7),
especially in light of the author's interest in the Passover theme elsewhere in
the book (e.g., 19:1ff.).
The "eyes" are more
explicitly identified as the "seven spirits of God sent out into all the
earth," probably a symbolic reference to the divine Holy Spirit who is
sent forth by Christ into the world (1:4;
4:5).
The teaching of the fourth Gospel is similar, where the Spirit is sent forth to
exalt Christ and convict the world of sin (John 14:26;
15:26;
16:7-15).
7
Next the Lamb acts: "He came and took the scroll." The Greek conveys
a dramatic action in the tense of the verb "took" (perhaps a dramatic
perfect?): "He went up and took it, and now he has it." Symbolically,
the one on the throne thus authorizes the slain messianic King to execute his
plan for the redemption of the world because in and through the Lamb, God is at
work in history for the salvation of humanity. Observe that this dramatic act
of seizing the scroll is not itself the act of victory referred to in v. 6
and later in v. 9.
Christ's victorious death on the cross is the basis of his authority to redeem
the world by taking and opening the seven-sealed scroll.
8
The Lamb's act calls forth three hymns of praise (vv. 9,
12, 13)
from the living creatures and elders. John sees them fall down in worship
before the Lamb as they had earlier done before the one on the throne (4:10),
thus acknowledging the deity of the Lamb. They have "harps", which
are the "lyres" used for the older psalmody (cf., e.g., Pss 33:2,
98:5)
but will now be used for the "new song" of praise to the Lamb (v. 9;
15:2-3).
The "bowls full of
incense" represent the "prayers of the saints" (8:3-4).
Prayer (proseuche) in this scene is not praise but petition. Why would
John mention the saints on earth as petitioning God? In 6:10
the martyrs are seen as calling to God for his judgment on those who killed
them, and in 8:3-4
the prayers of the saints are immediately connected with the trumpets of God's
judgment. These prayers, then, are evidently for God's vindication of the
martyred saints. And since v. 10
refers to the coming kingdom, it may be that the prayers are petitions for God
to judge the world and to extend his kingdom throughout the earth (Luke 18:7-8).
"Saints" here, as elsewhere in the NT and the rest of Revelation, is
simply the normal term for the rank and file of Christians, i.e., those set
apart for God's purposes (2Cor 1:1;
Philippians 1:1;
Rev 11:18;
13:7,
13:10;
19:8;
22:21).
9
The three hymns interpret the symbolism of the scroll and the Lamb. The number
of singers increases from twenty-eight in v. 8
to every creature in all creation in v. 13.
The first two hymns are songs of praise to the Lamb, whereas the last is praise
to both the one on the throne and the Lamb (v. 13).
The first hymn (vv. 9-10)
is called a "new" song because there was never any like it before in
heaven (cf. comments on 14:3).
"You are worthy" (axios,
"comparable," "equal to," "deserving") refers to
the qualifications of this person who alone has won the right to take the
scroll and open its seals. His worthiness for this task was won by his loving
sacrifice on the cross—"because you were slain." This must be
understood as a direct reference to the earthly death of the human Jesus of
Nazareth (the Gr. aorist tense supports this). It is no mythological death or
salvation. Like other NT writers, John views the death of Jesus as a redeeming
death—"and with your blood [or `by the price of your blood'] you purchased
[or `redeemed,' agorazo] men for God."
The death of Jesus broke the
stranglehold of the "powers and authorities" over the creation and
produced a great victory of liberation for mankind (Col 2:15).
It is this victory, obtained through suffering and death, that entitles Christ
to execute the unfolding of the mystery of God's consummation of history. The
centrality of the Cross and its meaning as a redemptive act comes repeatedly to
the fore and should dominate our understanding throughout Revelation. (1:5;
5:12;
7:14;
12:11;
13:8;
14:4;
15:3;
19:7;
21:9,
23;
22:3,
et al.). Jesus' death secured a salvation universally applied to all classes
and peoples of the earth—"every tribe and language and people and
nation" (cf. 7:9).
10
The Lamb's right to open the scroll rests also on the fact that he has made the
ransomed into a "kingdom" and made them "priests" (to serve
God in praise; cf. Heb 13:15-16).
Christians "will reign on the earth" with Christ because they have
been given "kingly authority" through his death (1:6;
20:4-6).
While not excluding the present reign of believers, the reference to "the
earth" is best taken to refer to the future eschatological kingdom reign
of Christ (see Notes for various problems in this verse).
11-12
Now John sees a new feature in the vision: "thousands upon thousands, and
ten thousand times ten thousand" angels surrounding the throne. The vision
is similar to Daniel's vision of the countless multitude before the Ancient of
Days (Dan 7:10).
The imagery suggests the infinite honor and power of the one who is at the
center of it all. The angels shout out their song of praise to the Lamb who was
slain (cf. Heb 1:6).
Their sevenfold shout rings out like the sound from a huge bell—"power...
wealth... wisdom... strength... honor... glory... praise." All these are
intrinsic qualities of Christ except the last, which is the expression of the
creatures' worship: "praise" (lit., "blessing"). Elsewhere
the same qualities are ascribed to God himself (5:13;
7:12).
The sevenfold multiplication of these attributes by angel choirs is a Qumran
liturgical method for creating the feeling of God's majesty and glory (7:12;
4QSL).
13-14
Finally, far beyond the precincts of the throne, there arises an expression of
praise and worth from the whole created universe to the one on the throne and
to the Lamb. John beautifully blends the worship of the Father (ch. 4) and the
worship of the Son (5:8-12)
together. In appropriate response, the living beings utter their
"Amen" (cf. comments on 3:14),
and the elders fall down in worship.
Notes
1
The difficult expression ὄπισθεν (opisthen, "behind,"
"back of") has textual variants here. A strongly supported tradition
in the versions and Fathers has the reading ἔξωθεν (exothen,
"outside"), which probably arose when codices replaced scrolls in the
Christian community, making the expression "back side" sound strange
(Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, [New
York: UBS, 1971], p. 737).
5
While evidence supporting a pre-Christian Jewish understanding of a suffering
Messiah is meager, there do exist some traces of it. Edersheim points out that Isaiah 53 was applied to the Messiah in the
Targum and in the Midrash on Samuel, "where it is said that all sufferings
are divided into three parts, one of which the Messiah bore" (LTJM,
2:727).
6
The word for "lamb" or young sheep used in Rev some twenty-eight
times is ἀρνίον (arnion), which occurs only once outside in John 21:15
(pl.). The alternate word elsewhere is ἀμνός (amnos), which occurs
only four times and is used of Christ John 1:29,
36;
Acts 8:32;
1 Peter 1:19).
Both words occur in the LXX and are used in Exod 12 to refer to the Passover
sacrificial lamb. No distinction between arnion and amnos should
be pressed; their use merely reflects the author's preference. The diminutive
ending ιον (ion) has lost its diminutive force (G. Mussies, The
Morphology of Koine Greek as Used in the Apocalypse of St. John [Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1971], p. 109).
9-10
Here the chief problem is whether the text should read "redeemed us
[ἡμᾶς, (hemas, `us')] to God" or simply "redeemed to
God," omitting hemas (NIV, "purchased men"). The reading
is crucial to the identification of the elders. If hemas is original, it
would be difficult to argue that the elders are angelic beings. The evidence
for the shorter reading consists of one Gr. MS (A) and one version (Ethiopic),
while all other versional and Gr. evidence has the word hemas. Unless
unusual weight is given to A (it is considered the best witness), the most
reasonable conclusion is to charge A at this point with an omission. On the
other hand, Metzger argues that the reading of A best accounts for the origin
of the longer variations since scribes were unsatisfied with a less-direct
object for ἠγόρασας (egorasas, "redeemed"; NIV,
"purchased") and supplied the awkward hemas, which does not
fit the αὐτοὺς (autous, "them") of v. 10
(Textual Commentary, p. 738). It is a difficult question to settle with
certainty, but this commentary follows the shorter reading (like NIV) and views
the elders as angels.
More difficult are the readings
βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, "they reign" [present tense]) or
βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, "they will reign" [future
tense]). Both have nearly equal MS support. Although NIV has the future tense
here, it would seem better to adopt—with reservations—the present-tense reading
and understand it as a "future present," in keeping with John's other
references to the future reign of the saints (20:4).
Mounce concurs (Revelation, p. 149, n.27). For a helpful inductive
discussion of the whole chapter, see also Robert H. Mounce, "Worthy is the
Lamb," ch. 5 in Scripture, Tradition, and Interpretation, edd. W.
Ward Gasque and William Sanford LaSor, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978).
John's expression "a kingdom and priests" is a combination of the LXX rendering of Exod 19:6 and that of the Targum's (M. McNamara, Targum and Testament: Aramaic Paraphrase of the Hebrew Bible; A Light on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962], p. 156). The source of this idea of the saints' reign could well be Dan 7:10ff., though no direct verbal allusion appears in Rev (R.T. France, Jesus and the Old Testament [Downers Grove, III.: InterVarsity, 1971], p. 204).
Bible Knowledge Commentary on Rev 5 - NASB:
1 I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.
Bible Knowledge Commentary on Rev 5:
"B.
The seven-sealed scroll (chap. 5)
1. The
Seven-Sealed Scroll Introduced (5:1)
5:1. All of chapter 4 is an introduction to the main
point of chapters 4-5,
that is, to introduce the scroll with its seven seals. The
symbolic presentation showed a scroll or a rolled-up parchment with seven seals
affixed to the side in such a way that if unrolled the seven seals would need
to be broken one by one.
2. The
Question, "Who Is Worthy?" (5:2-5)
5:2-5. John saw a mighty angel (cf. 10:1;
18:21)
and heard him ask in a loud voice, Who is worthy to break the seals and open
the scroll? This is the first of 20 times "loud voice" occurs in
Revelation. The last is in 21:3.
The Greek word rendered "scroll" is biblion, from which is derived the word "Bible." When no
one was found to be worthy, John wept and wept (lit., "kept on
shedding many tears"). One of the 24 elders, however, told
him not to weep, and introduced him to the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David (cf. Isa. 11:1;
Rev. 22:16).
The elder informed John that He had triumphed, that is, had already
achieved victory, and that He alone was able to break the seals
and open the scroll.
5:6-7. Though introduced as a "Lion" (v. 5),
what John saw was a Lamb that appeared to have been slain
or sacrificed. Yet the Lamb was standing in the center of the throne.
About Him were the 24 elders and the four living creatures. The
Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes.
The Lion and the Lamb surely refer
to Christ, with the Lamb referring to His first coming and His death and the
Lion referring to His second coming and His sovereign judgment of the world.
This is the only place in Revelation where Christ is called a Lion, whereas the
word "Lamb" (arnion, "a small or young lamb") is found 27 times in
Revelation and nowhere else in the New Testament. But two similar words for a
sacrificial lamb are used in the New Testament: arēn, found only
in Luke 10:3,
and amnos, which occurs four times (John 1:29,
36;
Acts 8:32;
1 Peter 1:19).
Since horns symbolize strength (1 Kings 22:11),
the "seven horns" represent the authority and strength of a ruler (Dan. 7:24;
Rev. 13:1).
The "seven eyes" defined as the seven spirits of God (cf. Zech. 3:9;
4:10)
symbolically represent the Holy Spirit (cf. Rev. 1:4,
4:5).
Because He alone is worthy, the Lamb took the scroll from the right hand of
Him who sat on the throne (cf. Dan. 7:9, 13-14).
4. The
Worship Of The Lamb (5:8-14)
5:8. When the scroll was taken by the Lamb, the 24
elders fell down before the Lamb in worship. Each elder had a harp
and golden bowls full of incense, which was interpreted as the
prayers of the saints (cf. Ps. 141:2).
While the angels presented the prayers, they were not priests or mediators.
Only the harp (lyre) and the trumpet are mentioned as musical instruments in
heavenly worship in the Book of Revelation.
5:9-10. In a new song the 4 creatures and 24 elders ascribed
worthiness to the Lamb to take the scroll and break the seals,
stating that the Lamb had been slain and had purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation. Those He purchased
with His blood were made a kingdom and priests to serve our God
(cf. 1:6),
and to reign on the earth. "Purchased" is from the verb agorazō, "to
redeem." (See the chart,
"New Testament Words for Redemption," at Mark 10:45.)
A textual problem exists in these
verses. The Greek text used by the kjv
indicates that the new song is sung by those who themselves have been redeemed:
"Thou... has redeemed us to God... and hast made us unto our
God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth."
The niv,
however, reads, "You purchased men for God.... You have made them
to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the
earth." If the kjv is
correct, the 24 elders must represent the church or saints in general. If their
song is impersonal as in the niv
and they simply are singing that Christ is the Redeemer of all men, it opens
the possibility that the 24 elders could be angels, though it does not
expressly affirm it.
While scholars differ on this point,
it would seem that since the elders are on thrones and are crowned as victors,
they represent the church rather than angels. Angels have not been judged and
rewarded at this point in the program of God. But angels soon join the
creatures and the elders in praising the Lamb (5:11-12).
The two different interpretations here should not mar the beauty of the picture
and the wonder of this song of praise.
5:11-12.
The elders were joined by the hosts of angels
in heaven who added their words of praise in a loud voice. The words they
sang are literally "they said" (legontes). This is in contrast to verse 9
where the 24 elders "sang" (adousin). In the angels' praise they ascribed power and wealth
and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise to God.
5:13-14.
Every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and
all that is in them joined the heavenly throng in words
of praise to God. In this final act of praise the four... creatures said
Amen, and the 24 elders fell prostrate in worship.
With the heavenly vision of chapters 4-5, the stage was set for the dramatic events to follow, the opening of the seven seals. It is clear from this revelation that heaven is real, not imagined. These two chapters reveal the indescribable glory and infinite majesty of the Godhead in heaven. The following chapters reveal this sovereign power of God expressed in judgment on a wicked world sunk in unprecedented depths of sin and blasphemy. Though believers today do not have the privilege of sharing John's vision or a similar one granted to Paul (2 Cor. 12:1-3), every believer can take the word pictures of Scripture here and anticipate the glory and the wonder of the heavenly scene that he will someday see with his own eyes,
9999999999999999999999 notes for REV 6 BELOW 999999999999999999
A Revelation 6:1-17 NASB
1 Then 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."
2 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.
3 When He broke the second
seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
4 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 would slay one another; and a great sword was given
to him.
5 When He broke the third
seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and
behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
6 And I heard something
like 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
damage the oil and the wine."
7 When the Lamb broke the
fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying,
"Come."
8 I looked, and behold, an
ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following
with him. 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.
9 When the Lamb 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;
10 and they cried out with a
loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain
from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 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, would be completed also.
12 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;
13 and the stars of the sky
fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great
wind.
14 The sky was split apart
like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved
out of their places.
15 Then 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;
16 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;
17
for the great day of their
wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
B) [(Rev 6) Austin Precepts Commentary On Rev chapter 6
1) (Rev 6:1 NASB) "Then 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." '''
"Having taken the scroll from the Father, the Lamb now begins
to open the seals. As each seal is opened, a new judgment comes upon the earth.
John is shown the judgments associated with the first six seals.
"Now I saw" or "Then I saw"
The chapter break is unfortunate here. Recall that the
previous chapter ended with the exaltation of the Lamb and the recognition of
His unique worthiness to open the scroll sealed with seven seals (see
commentary on Revelation 5:5). The scene of worship and praise which John
beheld is an important precursor to the scenes of judgment to follow. “After
five chapters of rather elaborate preparation, ‘the things which must happen
soon’ (Rev. 1:1+; 4:1+) begin to unfold.”1
"when the Lamb opened" or "when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals"
The Lamb had been slain to redeem men and the world (Rev 5:9+). Having paid the ultimate price, He is now worthy to open the first seal and initiate the steps which will lead to His global rule on earth. “Each time, with the opening of a seal, nothing is read from the scroll (Lenski), but actions occur that unquestionably match the corresponding part of the scroll exposed through each consecutive seal."
2)
(Rev 6:2 NASB) "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."
"None of the horrendous judgments about
to take place transpire until the Lamb opens a seal. Human history records a
litany of wars, natural disasters, famines, and the like, but what is about to
come forth upon the earth is completely unique. What has transpired up to now
is the routine manifestation of human selfishness, sin, and the fallen world in
which man lives. As Jesus explained, “all these things must come to pass, but
the end is not yet” (Mat. 24:6). But with the opening of the seals by the Lamb,
a divinely-initiated series of judgments begin which are historically unique in
a number of aspects:
1. Severity -
The judgments are more severe than any previously experienced in history. This
coming day is unique so there is “none like it” (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1; Mat.
24:21; Mark 13:19; Rev 3:10+). (See Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation.)
2. Wrath of
the Lamb - Unlike previous times when God the Father has manifested His wrath
upon nations, this is the time of the “wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16+). It is
the Son, the Lamb of God, Who’s wrath is being manifested.
3. The Final
Flowering of Sin - Humanism and Satanism will be at their apex on a global
scale. The ascent of man, as humanists view human history, will have reached
its apex—which is in reality its lowest point since the ascent is really a
descent. At this time, there will be a full flowering of sin unique in all
history for its depravity and extent.
4. Ushering
in God’s Kingdom on Earth - The wrath of the Lamb which comes forth is not
merely a disconnected judgment of sin. It is part and parcel of the sweeping
away of the systems of man to make way for the promised Messianic Kingdom on
earth—the only kingdom which will never pass away.
This last point, the ushering in of God’s earthly kingdom,
can be seen in the similarities between the events found in this book when
compared with the events leading to the establishment of the first Theocratic
Kingdom on earth—when Israel was delivered from Egypt.
There is a definite parallel between the supernatural
preparation for the kingdom in history under Moses and the supernatural
judgments which shall be poured out upon a rebellious world in preparation for
the future Millennial Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ at His second advent.
There is the same insolent challenge to the true God on the part of the Gentile
powers (Ps. 2:1-3). There will be a similar gracious but infinitely greater
preliminary miracle [like Ex. 7:12]—the Rapture of the Church—warning men of
the supremacy of Jehovah and the ultimate defeat of all who rebel against Him.
There will be the same swift progression in the severity of the divine
judgments which follow, and even a striking parallel in the nature of the
judgments (cf. Rev. 6:1-17+ through 18). There will be the same victorious
outcome, the destruction of the antichrist and his armies in the judgment of
Armageddon, and deliverance of the people of Israel (Rev. 19:1-21+). There will
be another song of victory, significantly referred to as ‘the song of Moses...
and the song of the Lamb’ (Rev. 15:1-3+).3
Everything which transpires from this point forward is
completely within the control of God. For it is the Lamb Who initiates these
events and there is no judgment, famine, or plague of demons which does not
ultimately serve God’s purpose in what unfolds. This is seen by the frequently
found phrase, it was given which attends both good and bad events recorded here
(see commentary on Revelation 6:2+).Since it is the Lamb Who unleashes the
events about to transpire, we are not surprised by the close correlation
between the sequence of events here and those which Jesus, the Lamb of God,
taught would come (see The Synoptic Gospels).They include:4
1. False
Messiahs: Mat. 24:5, 11; Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; Rev. 6:2+.
2. Wars: Mat.
24:6-7; Mark 13:7; Luke 21:9; Rev. 6:4+.
3. Famines:
Mat. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:10; Rev. 6:5-6+, 8+.
4. Pestilences:
Luke 21:11; Rev. 6:8+.
5. Persecution:
Mat. 24:9; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-17; Rev. 6:9-11+.
6. Earthquakes:
Mat. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Rev. 6:12+.
7. Cosmic Phenomena: Mat. 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:11; Rev. 6:12-14+.
2)
(Rev 6:3 NASB) "When He broke the second
seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
66667777 "one of the seals"
Concerning the significance of the seals, see commentary on
Revelation 5:1.
Each of the scroll’s seven seals (cf. Rev. 5:1+) represents
a specific divine judgment that will be poured out sequentially on the earth.
The seals encompass the entire period of the Tribulation (Rev. 3:10+),
culminating with the return of Christ. It seems best to understand the first
four seals as taking place during the first half of the Tribulation, the fifth
stretching from the first into the second half, (called the “great tribulation”
in Rev. 7:14+ and lasting three and one-half years; Rev 11:2+; Rev 12:6+; Rev
13:5+) and the sixth and seventh taking place during that “great tribulation.”
Apparently the seventh seal contains the seven trumpet judgments (Rev.
8:1+-11:19+) and the seventh trumpet (Rev. 11:15+) contains the seven bowl
judgments (Rev. 16:1-21+). The seven seals thus contain all the judgments to
the end when Jesus Christ returns.5
As the Lamb opens the seals, a sequence of events are
initiated which are closely parallel to Matthew 24 (also Mark 13 and Luke 21).
The first four seals are set apart from the final three in their common
representation by riders on horses.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
66667777
Showers equates the birth pangs “beginning of sorrows” of
Mt. 24:4-8 with the first four seals of Revelation 6:1-8+ and places them
during the first half of the 70th week of Daniel.7 He also observes that the
Day of the Lord includes the notion of birth pangs (Isa. 13:6-10; 1Th. 5:3), so
the first four seals are probably included within the first half of the 70th
week (see The 70th Week of Daniel).
Since the beginning of birth pangs of Matthew 24 and the
first four seals of Revelation 6+ are the same thing, and since the broad Day
of the Lord will include the beginning of birth pangs, we can conclude that the
broad Day of the Lord will also include the first four seals of Revelation 6+.
. . . Since the beginning of birth pangs of the first half of the 70th week and
the first four seals of Revelation 6+ are the same thing, the divine wrath,
anger, and destruction of the Day of the Lord will also be associated with the
first four seals.8
living creatures
See commentary on Revelation 4:6.
voice like thunder
Some speculate that the voice like thunder of the living
creature may be the source of the seven thunders which John is prevented from
recording (Rev. 10:3+). However, the description of this voice is probably
meant to be an indication of its imposing volume to connect its command with
the judgment to follow. See commentary on Revelation 4:5.
Come and see.
Ἐρχου καὶ ἴδε [Erchou kai ide] (MT) or Ἐρχου καὶ ἴδου
[Erchou kai idou] (TR). This phrase occurs in the TR and MT texts in
conjunction with the loosing of each of the first four seals (Rev. 6:1+, 3+,
5+, 7+). These translations understand the living creature to be speaking to
John. The NU text omits καὶ ἴδε [kai ide], and see, understanding come as a
command issued by the living creature to the rider of the horse bringing him
forth in judgment. This would accord well with the emphasis found on the
judgments being subject to divine control.
The cry itself is very brief—Ἐρχου [Erchou]! It may be
equally rendered Go, or Come! Our translators give it about as often one way as
the other. It does not alter the sense here whichever way we take it. It is not
an address to John, as many have regarded it, and as the questionable addition
to the text—“and see”—would seem to require. John was already on the spot,
beholding all that was transpiring, and did not need to be called any nearer,
or to remove any further off. And if his nearer approach or further departure
had been needed in the case of the first horseman, it could not have been
needed for the succeeding ones. But we find the same command repeated in each
successive instance. Neither can we explain why it should be such a voice of
thundering power, if it was simply to call to the seer.9
Revelation 6:2
white horse
This white horse is the first of four horses of different
colors, similar to the horses seen by Zechariah (Zec. 1:8; 6:2-6).10 See
Zechariah’s Horses for a discussion of the relationship between Zechariah’s
visions and the horsemen shown John. Within the context of the book of
Revelation, white represents righteousness. “The white horse . . . emerges as
an emblem of righteousness, though there is no guarantee that the righteousness
is more than apparent.”11
he who sat on it
The similarities between this rider and Christ are striking:
1. Riding a
White Horse - Both ride upon a white horse indicating victory (Rev. 6:2+; Rev
19:11+).
2. Wearing a
Crown - Both wear a crown (Rev. 6:2+; Rev 19:12+). (But Christ wears multiple
crowns.)
3. Overcome -
Both are “overcomers”—victorious in their pursuits (Rev. 6:2+; John 16:33; 1Jn.
4:4; Rev. 3:21+; Rev 17:14+).
Even so, this is not the white horse which carries He who is
Faithful and True in Revelation 19:11+. For it is the Lamb who has just loosed
the first seal sending this horseman out. It violates all logic for the same
person to be opening the seal and sending himself forth.12 “Moreover, it would
be inappropriate to have an angelic being call forth Christ or his servants.”13
If Christ rides forth here, who is it that remains in heaven to open the
remaining seals?14 This rider carries a bow whereas Christ’s weapon is a sword
(Rev. 2:12+; Rev 19:15+). This rider is alone whereas Christ is followed by the
armies in heaven also riding on white horses (Rev. 19:14+). Finally, this rider
sets forth at the beginning of the Tribulation whereas Christ rides forth at its
end. In light of related passages, it seems best to understand this rider as
representing a movement which ultimately culminates in the one whom Jesus
described:15 “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if
another comes in his own name, him you will receive” (John 5:43+). To an
unsuspecting world he looks like Messiah, the political savior of mankind, yet
he is a deceiver, the anti- or pseudo-Christ. Here is documented the initial
appearance of the figure of the Antichrist upon the stage of world history.
Although there will be numerous false messiahs down through history, none as
convincing and successful as this final figure.16 The Restrainer has been taken
out of the way so that the Antichrist, the son of perdition, might be revealed
in his own time (2Th. 2:6-7+). He is the one who will be destroyed with the
breath of the mouth of the Lamb (2Th. 2:8+; Rev. 19:20+). The church has
already been taken up for she watches for Christ, not Antichrist. See Rapture,
Imminency.
The beginning of birth pangs of Matthew 24:8+ and the first
four seals of Revelation 6:1-7+ are the same thing and will occur during the
first half of the seven years of the 70th week. In light of the fact that the
beginning of birth pangs will involve false messiahs, it would appear that the
rider of the first seal will be a false messiah. . . . Since, . . . God’s Holy
Spirit has the function of restraining humanity’s lawlessness, and since the
Antichrist will be the ultimate expression of human lawlessness, it would
appear that Paul was indicating in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8+ that the restraining
work of the Holy Spirit is the restraint that prevents the Antichrist from
being revealed until the right time. The Holy Spirit will continue that
restraining work until He, as the restrainer, is removed, at which time the
Antichrist will be revealed. Since, as noted earlier, only God has the
authority to remove the Holy Spirit’s restraint, and since the Antichrist will
be revealed once that restraint is removed, we can conclude that it will be
through divine activity that the Antichrist will be turned loose to conquer the
world. . . . It is important to note that God declared He will raise up the
foolish, idol shepherd (Zec. 11:16).17
The rider on the white horse is more probably to be
identified as the Antichrist. If this is not Antichrist, then Revelation does
not place Antichrist on the scene of events before the middle of Daniel’s
Seventieth Week (in Rev. 13+), and the rider is virtually unidentifiable.18
Pre-wrath rapture advocate Marvin Rosenthal finds the idea
of God’s release of the Antichrist to be “preposterous:”
If the seals are God’s wrath, then God alone must take
direct responsibility for a counterfeit religious system and the emergence of
the Antichrist, for that is precisely what the first seal depicts. To attribute
the emergence of the Antichrist to God is obviously preposterous. . . . To
suggest that the first four seals are God’s wrath is totally unfounded. It
strains reason to think that once God begins His Day of the Lord wrath, the
Antichrist is able to assume control of the world.19
But to take any other view—that the manifestation of
Antichrist is under the control of Satan or man—is opposed to biblical
teaching. Even if the restrainer is taken to be something or someone other than
God Himself (a view we do not hold), who is it that takes the Restrainer “out
of the way” so that the “lawless one” is revealed (2Th. 2:6-7+)? If the
revealing of Antichrist is not subject to the precise timing and permission of
God, then what are we to make of a tremendous number of biblical passages which
assert the absolute sovereignty of God over all things? Rosenthal lacks an
adequate view of the sovereignty of God and how He redirects sin and the
depravity of man toward His own ends. There are many examples where sin
accomplishes God’s purpose (cf Ge 50:20), yet those who sin remain fully
responsible for their actions. God is not the author of sin (Jas 1:13+), but
all things serve His purpose in the end (Mt. 24:26+; Mark 14:21+; Luke 22:22+;
Acts 2:22-23+). See Who is the Restrainer?.
The first six seals. . . are thus set here, in order to show
us that these judgments do not arise from chance, but are all under Divine
control. The great False Messiah of the first Seal cannot be revealed until the
appointed moment shall have come and the voice from the throne gives the
permissive command “Go!” The judgments cannot fall until the same command is
given.20
a bow
The bow is a symbol representing strength (Job 29:20; 30:11;
Eze. 39:3).Some understand the mention of a bow, but no arrows as an indication
of his initial deception by peace and agreement (Da 9:27+). “The Antichrist is
seen riding a white war-horse, and with bow in hand, but with no arrow fitted
to it. The symbol suggests bloodless victories.”21 Like Antiochus Epiphanes
before him, he would “come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue . .
. and after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully” (Da
11:21-23+).
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce
features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not
by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he
shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning He
shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his
heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against
the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means. And the
vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up
the vision, for it refers to many days in the future. (Da 8:23-26+)
There is no question among expositors that Antiochus
Epiphanes is in view in this prophecy. What was prophesied was fulfilled
literally through him. However, the prophecy looks beyond Antiochus to a future
person (the Antichrist) of whom Antiochus is only a foreshadowing. This coming
one is said to “stand against the Prince of princes” (Da 8:25+). This can be
none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the prophecy must go beyond
Antiochus and look forward to the coming of one whose ministry will parallel that
of Antiochus. From Antiochus certain facts can be learned about the forthcoming
desecrator: (1) He will achieve great power by subduing others (Da 8:24). (2)
He will rise to power by promising false security (Dan. 8:25). (3) He will be
intelligent and persuasive (Dan. 8:23). (4) He will be controlled by another
(Dan. 8:24), that is, Satan. (5) He will be an adversary of Israel and
subjugate Israel to his authority (Dan. 8:24-25). (6) He will rise up in
opposition to the Prince of princes, the Lord Jesus Christ (Dan. 8:25). (7) His
rule will be terminated by divine judgment (Dan. 8:25). So it may be concluded
that there is a dual reference in this striking prophecy. It reveals Israel’s
history under the Seleucids and particularly under Antiochus during the time of
Greek domination, but it also looks forward to Israel’s experiences under
Antichrist, whom Antiochus foreshadows.22
So before the terrors of the Tribulation break loose and
lead to the battle of Armageddon there will come a period of world peace. But
it will be a deceptive peace, as the world is lulled into a false sense of
security followed by war, famine, and death. The world’s desperate desire for
international peace will serve as the bait for the satanic trap. That longing
for security and safety will play into the hands of Antichrist, Satan’s ruler
(Rev 13:4-5+), who will convince the world that he can provide them. He will
particularly deceive Israel, whose people have for so long desired peace, and
he “will make a firm covenant with the many [Israel] for one week” (Da 9:27+).
Antichrist’s peace pact and protection of Israel will not last, however: “in
the middle of the week [the Seventieth Week of Daniel’s prophecy; the
Tribulation] he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the
wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete
destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate”
(Da 9:27+, cf Mt 24:15+, Da 7:25+, 2Th 2:4+). The false peace that Antichrist
brings will come to an abrupt halt at the midpoint of the Tribulation when he
desecrates the temple in Jerusalem, betrays the Jewish people, and launches
deadly attacks on them (cf. Mt. 24:4-10). There can and will be no peace until
the Prince of Peace sets up His earthly kingdom (Rev. 20:1-6+).23
Like Antiochus before him, the Antichrist plays a special
role in relation to Israel during the events to come:
God will have specific purposes for bringing Antichrist on
the world scene. One purpose will be the punishment of Israel. . . . [the]
desolation of Israel by the Antichrist will be part of God’s judgment of the
nation because it rejected its Messiah in His first coming [John 5:43]. . . . A
second purpose will be the repentance of Israel. . . . God will bring the
Antichrist on the world scene to play a major role in shattering [Israel’s]
rebellion [Dan. 12:7+]. . . . A third purpose will be the judgment of the
world. . . . God will judge the world by giving it the kind of ruler it
deserves. . . . A fourth purpose will be the exposure of the world’s unbelief.
God will bring the Antichrist on the world scene and permit him to make his
claim to be God to demonstrate mankind’s unbelief, . . . A fifth purpose will
be the instigation of the final showdown between Christ and Satan’s forces and
the defeat of those forces (Rev 19:15-21+).24
a crown
στέφανος [stephanos], generally used of a victor’s crown or
wreath, but not always. A widespread, but erroneous teaching is that this
crown, being a stephanos and not a diadema, indicates that the rider cannot be
Christ.25 Not so, for Christ is also found wearing such a crown (Mt. 27:29; Mk
15:17; Jn 19:2, 5; Heb. 2:9). Evidence that this rider is other than Christ
must be derived from other factors (see above). See Crowns.
was given to him
ἐδόθη [edothē], passive voice. Although the rider likely
believes he has gained his own crown for himself (cf. Isa. 45:1-4; Pr. 21:1; Da
2:21; Da 2:37; 4:25, 31-32; 5:21), it is only his by permission. Everything
which proceeds from the opening of the seals is subject to the permission of
the one seated on the throne and the Lamb. The sovereignty of God is heavily
emphasized throughout the book of Revelation—there is nothing which transpires
that God Himself does not grant authority for it. This is seen in the
frequently-found phrase was given which denotes the granting of permission to
an agent from another, namely God (Rev 6:2+, Rev 6:4+, Rev 6:8+, Rev 6:11+; Rev
7:2+; Rev 8:3+; Rev 9:1+, Rev 9:3+, Rev 9:5+; Rev 11:1+; Rev 13:5+, Rev 13:7+,
Rev 13:14-15+; Rev 16:8+; Rev 19:8+; Rev 20:4+). The first horseman is granted
his crown (Rev. 6:2+), the second horseman is given to take peace with a great
sword (Rev. 6:4+); Death and Hades, who ride with the third horsemen are given
authority to kill a fourth part of the earth (Rev. 6:8+), the four angels are
given the power to hurt the earth and sea (Rev. 8:3+), the star from heaven is
given the key to loosen the demonic locusts from the abyss (Rev. 9:1+) who were
themselves given power to torment men (Rev. 9:5+), the beast is given authority
to continue for forty two months (Rev. 13:5+) and to make war against the
saints and overcome them (Da 7:25+; Rev. 13:7+), the fourth bowl is given the
ability to scorch men (Rev. 16:8+). All of these horrific and terrible realities—the
very manifestation and flowering of sin of which God is not author—are
harnessed for His purposes. The troubling and yet comforting reality is that
there is no creature which ultimately does not serve God’s purpose, either
willingly or unwillingly. Troubling, because in the inscrutable purpose of God
such evil is allowed to continue. Comforting, because everything we suffer is
subject to God’s approval and purpose (Job 2:6; Ro 8:28+). “How irresistible
the grasp of Omnipotence on the powers and forces of evil. They are effectually
bridled till the plans of God are ripe and ready for action.”26 Once the
reality of God’s sovereignty is understood, the bondage of Satan is seen for
what it is. For Satan has less freedom in rebellion against God than he once
had in obedient service of the Master.
he went out conquering and to conquer
νικων και ἵνα νικήση [nikao - nikōn kai hina nikēsē], both
conquering and conquer are from νικάω [nikao], the same root as overcomer.
Thus, he is another overcomer (Rev. 11:7+) to be contrasted with the True
Overcomer Who is Christ (Rev. 5:5+; Rev 17:14+).
ED: See Overcome (conquer) (3528) nikao
He will be endowed with the most extraordinary powers, so
that “he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall
destroy the mighty and the holy people” (Dan. 8:24). Before his exploits the
fame of Alexander and Napoleon will be forgotten. None will be able to stand
before him. He will go “forth conquering and to conquer” (Rev. 6:2+). He will
sweep everything before him so that the world will exclaim, “Who is like unto
the Beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Rev. 13:4+). His military
exploits will not be confined to a corner, but carried out on a vast scale. He
is spoken of as the man who will “shake kingdoms” and “make the earth to
tremble” (Isa. 14:16).27
Ezekiel 34:23-30 says that when God establishes His covenant
of peace with Israel, the covenant will result in safety, peace with nations,
and the elimination of harmful beasts by famine. By contrast, when the
Antichrist establishes his covenant of peace with Israel [Dan. 9:27+], God will
inflict the world with conditions opposite of those His covenant of peace will
bring. He will unleash war (the sword) [the second seal, Rev. 6:3-4+], famine
(the third seal, Rev. 6:5-6+), and harmful beasts (the fourth seal, Rev.
6:7-8+) upon the earth to demonstrate that the Antichrist’s covenant of peace
is not the covenant of peace that will bring true safety, as foretold in the
Old Testament.28
ADDENDUM COMMENTS ON IDENTITY OF THE RIDER ON THE WHITE
HORSE:
John Walvoord - Because Christ in His second coming is
pictured (Rev 19:11) as riding on a white horse, some have taken it that this
rider in 6:2 also must refer to Christ, as the white horse is a symbol of
victory. Roman generals after a victory in battle would ride a white horse in
triumph with their captives following. The chronology, however, is wrong, as
Christ returns to the earth as a conqueror not at the beginning of the
Tribulation but at the end of the Tribulation. Also the riders on the other horses
obviously relate to destruction and judgment which precede the second coming of
Christ by some period of time. A better interpretation is that the conqueror
mentioned here is the future world ruler, sometimes referred to as Antichrist
though Revelation does not use this term. He is probably the same person as the
ruler of the people mentioned in Daniel 9:26. This ruler has a bow without an
arrow, indicating that the world government which he establishes is
accomplished without warfare (see Rev. 13:4). The future world government
begins with a time of peace but is soon followed by destruction (1 Thes. 5:3).
In general, the seals, trumpets, and bowls of divine wrath signal the terrible
judgments of God on the world at the end of the Age, climaxing in the second
coming of Christ. (See Bible Knowledge Commentary)
Charles Swindoll - The rider on the white horse (6:1–2) most
likely represents bloodless conquest—false peace and security. Notice that he
carried a bow without arrows. The type of crown on his head is the stephanos
[4735]—not a crown of regal authority but a victor’s crown.[70] The Tribulation
period will begin with a deceptive peace accompanied by a counterfeit
spirituality and false religion. Paul describes this same general condition in
1 Thessalonians 5:3: “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then
destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with
child, and they will not escape.” The coming of false religion is seen also in
Christ’s own description of the end times in Matthew 24:4–5. (See Insights on
Revelation)
Charles Ryrie - Evidently a reference to Antichrist. See
note on •1 John 2:18. His method of conquest at first does not seem to include
open warfare, since peace is not removed from the earth until the second seal
is opened (Rev. 6:3). This corresponds to the description of delusion in 1
Thes. 5:3. (Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition)
Robert Thomas - Nonetheless, as many pluses as this view has
(ED: THAT THE RIDER IS CHRIST), its weaknesses are even more impressive. The
major one is contextual: the Messiah cannot be put on the same plane as the
three riders to follow. The four have an essential likeness to each other,
clearly belonging together as part of archē ōdinōn (“the beginning of
birth-pains”) (Mark 13:8) (Moffatt; Charles). The Messiah is out of place in
this company. In addition, the differences between this rider and the one in
Rev. 19:11–16 are pronounced. The latter one is called “faithful and true,” but
the former one is not so characterized in that his goal is unjust conquest
(Johnson). The rider in 19:11–16 is none other than the Lamb who opened the
first seal, negating the possibility of His also being the rider revealed by
that seal (Moffatt; Beckwith). In 19:11–16, the rider is present in triumph,
followed by the host of heaven, but here the rider works in bodily absence,
being only a symbol rather than the embodiment of His victorious kingdom
(Alford). This rider wears a victor’s wreath and carries a bow, but the one in
chapter 19 is crowned with many diadems and has a sharp sword issuing from His
mouth (Mounce). Finally, it is out of keeping with the dramatic plan of the
book for the triumph of Christ to transpire until a long series of judgments
have run their course (Beckwith). If the first rider is not the Messiah, then,
he must be someone resembling the Messiah. He has been closely identified with
the world ruler who is pictured as the first beast of Revelation 13.35 He will
come as a counterfeit Christ. The general accuracy of this explanation is
verified through comparison with the parallel accounts of these end-times in
Matt. 24:5; Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8 (cf. also Matt. 24:24) (Bullinger; Johnson).
First in sequence among the signs spoken of earlier by Christ was the emergence
of many “impostor” christs. It is futile to turn elsewhere for an understanding
of this first rider. This conclusion agrees with the character of the other
three riders also. All of them are associated with the great end-time impostor
and his forces. The book is full of satanic imitations of Christ and His
conquest, including the crowns of 12:1, 2 and the victories of 11:7 and 13:7
(Sweet; Ford). This rider is one of them. Yet to identify him as the world
ruler himself is not quite accurate. This rider, like the other three, is not
an individual, but a personification of a growing movement or force that will
be at work during this future period. Christ spoke of many impostors. These
will join hands in a concerted effort to unseat Him from His throne. The beast
out of the sea (cf. Rev. 13:1–8) will be a part of this movement and on his way
to the top, but at the time represented by the first seal, he will not have
risen to be the pre-eminent one of the movement. At the very beginning of the
period, called “the beginning of birth-pains,” he will be one of many impostors
who constitute this antichristian force of which this first rider is an emblem.
(Revelation Exegetical Commentary) (Thomas discusses at least 8 interpretations
that have been offered for the rider on the white horse - click this link and
scroll up and down which may visualize all the candidates)
Robert Mounce - The arguments against Christ as the rider of
the white horse, however, are of sufficient strength to make the identification
unlikely. A comparison of chapters 6 and 19 shows that the two riders have
little in common beyond the fact that they are both mounted on white horses. In
6:2 the rider wears a victor’s wreath and carries a bow; in 19:11ff. he is
crowned with “many crowns”7 and armed with a sharp sword coming out of his
mouth. The context of 6:2 is one of conquest, while that of 19:11ff. is
righteous retribution. Another difficulty is that the identification brackets
the proclamation of the gospel with a series of devastating calamities
following one another as the inevitable results of human sinfulness (war,
scarcity, death).8 There is also the confusion involved in the Lamb’s opening
the seals while at the same time being the one who rides forth when the first
seal is broken. A final and fatal objection is the repeated use of “there was
given,” which normally in Revelation refers to “the divine permission granted
to evil powers to carry out their nefarious work.”9 The other prominent
interpretation of the white horse and rider is that they symbolize the spirit
of conquest and militarism. (The Book of Revelation)
John Phillips - Who is this mysterious rider on the great
white horse? In the Scripture, a horse is often used as a symbol for war. At
the end of the Apocalypse, for example, the Lord Jesus Himself returns on a
great white horse to settle the issues of Armageddon (Rev. 19:11-16). The white
color of the horse suggests that the rider wins victories without bloodshed.
Peaceful victory is implied-what we would call "cold war." The bow
intimates that far-reaching objectives are in view, and the crown makes it clear
that whatever is represented under the symbolism of this seal will be
successful and victorious. At the command to come, the rider spurs forward both
conquering, and to conquer. But who is he? Some believe him to be the
Antichrist. Others claim that he is Christ Himself. Some think he represents
the gospel, its power, its goals, its peaceful conquest of the globe. Obviously
he cannot be all of these. The context provides the needed clue, for the Holy
Spirit Himself interprets the symbolism of the fourth horseman: he is Death,
and Hades follows hard on his heels. The horsemen, therefore, are not persons,
but personifications. Moreover, they are personifications of things most
unpleasant indeed. (Exploring Revelation)
Warren Wiersbe - Antichrist (vv. 1–2). Daniel states that
there is a “prince that shall come,” who will make a covenant with Israel to
protect her from her enemies (Dan. 9:26–27). In other words, the future world
dictator begins his career as a peacemaker! He will go from victory to victory
and finally control the whole world. Some have suggested that the rider on the
white horse is actually a symbol of the “conquering Christ” who today is
defeating the forces of evil in the world. They point to Revelation 19:11 as
proof, but the only similarity is the presence of a white horse. If this rider
is indeed Jesus Christ, it seems strange that He should be named at the end of
the book and not at the beginning! We would expect the Antichrist to resemble
the Christ, because Antichrist is Satan’s great imitation! Even the Jews (who
ought to know the Scriptures) will be deceived by him (John 5:43; 2 Thes.
2:1–12). This great deceiver will come as a peaceful leader, holding a bow but
no arrows! (Our Lord’s weapon is a sword; Rev. 19:15.) Antichrist will solve
the world’s problems and be received as the Great Liberator. The word for crown
in Revelation 6:2 is stephanos, which means “the victor’s crown.” The crown
that Jesus Christ wears is diadema, “the kingly crown” (Rev. 19:12). Antichrist
could never wear the diadem, because it belongs only to the Son of God.
(Revelation Commentary)
Alan Johnson - The identification of the first rider seated
on a white horse has given interpreters great difficulty. Essentially, the
difficulty is whether the rider on the white horse represents Christ and the
victory of the gospel (Alford, Ladd) or whether he represents the Antichrist
and the forces of evil (Beckwith, Bruce, Caird, Mounce, Swete, Walvoord). In
favor of the first identification is the striking similarity of this rider to
the portrayal of Christ in Rev 19:11-16, the symbolism of white throughout
Revelation always being associated with righteousness and Christ (e.g., Rev
1:14; 2:17; 3:4-5, 18; 4:4; 7:9, 13-14; 20:11), and the references in the
Olivet Discourse to the preaching of the gospel throughout the world before the
end. Support for the identification of the white horse with the Antichrist and
his forces is the parallelism with the other three horses, which are
instruments of judgment. The references in Rev 19:11-16 to the rider on the
white horse as "Faithful and True" and of whom it is said that
"with justice he judges and makes war" may stand in contrast to the
rider in Rev 6:2 who is not faithful or true and who wages war for unjust
conquest. As for the Lamb, he opens the seals and would not be one of the
riders. Moreover, it would be inappropriate to have an angelic being call forth
Christ or his servants. Again, the "bow" would most naturally be
connected with the enemy of God's people (Ezek 39:3; cf. Rev 20:7-8). Finally,
the parallelism to the Olivet Discourse shows that the first events mentioned
are the rise of "false Christs and false prophets" (Matt 24:24). It
must be admitted that the problem of the identity of the rider on the white
horse may be solved either way, depending on the presuppositions one brings to
the passage. The evidence, however, seems to favor slightly the second
solution, which identifies the white horse with the Antichrist and his forces
that seek to conquer the followers of Christ. John sensed that these
persecutions were already present in his day and that they would culminate in a
final, more severe form (1 John 2:18; Rev 13:7). (Expositor's Bible Commentary)
Revelation 6:3
come and see
“The ‘living one’ who introduces this second horse does not
use a voice of thunder as did the ‘living one’ who dispatched the first horse.
This is significant, for it indicates that the first horse brings the other
three horses in its train as a sequential consequence.”29 See commentary on
Revelation 6:1.
Revelation 6:4
fiery red
πυρρός [pyrros]: “As a color fiery red, red (as fire).”30
The same color as the dragon in Revelation 12:3+.
was granted
Ultimate power rests with God who allows the judgment for
His purposes. See commentary on Revelation 6:2.
take peace from the earth
Although the rider on the white horse appears to conquer by
means of negotiation and avoids bloodshed, this does not last. Eventually he
shows his true colors as the second rider joins the ride—bringing war and
death. This may correspond to the point in Daniel’s vision where another “horn
which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a
mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows”
(Dan. 7:20). It appears that the little horn may only progress so far by means
of peace before he is forced to go to war and assert his position with
violence. Shortly after this point: “I was watching; and the same horn was
making war against the saints, and prevailing against them” (Dan. 7:21+ cf.
Rev. 6:9-10+). This is the time of the “beginning of sorrows” which Jesus spoke
of (Mt. 24:6-8+). See The Synoptic Gospels.
should kill one another
σφάξουσιν [sphaxousin]: “To slaughter . . . Of the killing
of a person by violence . . . butcher or murder someone”31. The same root
described the Lamb “as though it had been slain” (Rev. 5:6+). This will be a
time of unprecedented bloodshed which will forever puncture the naive view of
humanism that man is inherently good.
a great sword
This sword is wielded by the second horseman, but it is sent
by God:
For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this wine
cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to
drink it. And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that
I will send among them.” Then I took the cup from the LORD’S hand, and made all
the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me. (Jer. 25:15-17)
This is the pattern of God’s judgment to nations who reject
Him—He makes them mad and turn upon one another (Eze. 38:21). “While Scripture
does not give the details, the advances in modern weaponry suggest a terrible,
unimaginable holocaust.”32
Revelation 6:5
a black horse
Black is μέλας [melas] which is used “Of clothing used in
mourning . . . as the color of evil.”33
a pair of scales
Here the black speaks of judgment and famine, for the rider
carries a pair of scales (balances) used to weigh food and indicating its
scarcity.
Revelation 6:6
a quart
“The measure spoken of here is the Greek measure of capacity
of very ancient usage, the choenix. As early as the time of Homer it was
indicated as the amount of wage given to a workman for a full day’s work
(Odyssey XIX:XXVIII). Herodotus also gives this as the measure of wheat
consumed by each soldier in the army of Xerxes (VIII:CLXXXVII).”34
wheat
σίτου [sitou], used of wheat in the context of hardship “as
an indication of severe famine and rising prices . . . Ignatius, in his fervent
longing for martyrdom, uses this symbolic language . . . I am God’s wheat and
will be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts.”35
a denarius
That famine is intended here is evident for this amount “was
a workman’s average daily wage.”36 Men will work an entire day and barely
procure enough to stay alive. “Ordinarily, from sixteen to twenty measures were
given for a denarius.”37
do not harm the oil and the wine
ἀδικήσῃς [adikēsēs], second person singular, imperative
mood. The voice from the midst of the four living creatures is commanding the
one on the black horse not to harm the oil and wine. Again, we see the
judgments which pour forth are precisely under the control of God. See
commentary on Revelation 6:1.Some attempt to understand this verse in relation
to an edict of Domitian restricting vine production in favor of corn:
It is argued that Rev. 6:6+ refers to Domitian’s edict
against vines in AD 92, a measure which may have been intended as a drastic
means of increasing corn production, but which hit Philadelphia with
exceptional severity because of its dependence on viticulture.38
Because of the earthquake, which drove them from the city
proper, and because of the fertility of the soil, many of the people had turned
to farming as a means of livelihood, specifically to the cultivation of
vineyards. Apparently, because of famine, in A.D. 92 Domitian issued an edict
that at least half the vineyards in the provinces be cut down and no new ones
planted. This action was designed to increase production of corn which the
Empire needed badly. This crisis affected Philadelphia more critically than any
other, because no city of Asia depended on the fruit of the vine more than it.
Dionysius, god of wine, was the principal deity.39
This seems unlikely for the four horsemen ride out after the
Lamb begins opening seals—something which remains future even to our own day.
Moreover, it appears Domitian’s edict was not motivated in response to
famine.40Others have understood the reference to oil as pertaining to the
marking upon the foreheads of the servants of God who are anointed for
protection during this time (Rev. 7:3+; Rev 9:4+; Rev 22:4+), but this seems
unlikely since the context concerns food supply and famine. Another suggestion
is that the common commodities are hard to come by, but luxury items will
remain available for the upper classes.
This intimates that the famine is by no means universal:
yea, it suggests that side by side with abject suffering there is abundance and
luxury.41
Some interpreters have suggested that the brunt of the
suffering falls upon the poorer classes, but the rich are left largely
untouched, but this is a less likely interpretation, for while fine wine and
oil could be understood of the luxuries belonging to the rich, the poorer
quality product may be in view here as descriptive of the ordinary provisions
used by the common people.42
One of the great criticisms of the present time is that
there is scarcity in the midst of plenty. This is the situation which will be
accentuated a thousandfold when the Antichrist begins his reign. It is a social
maladjustment.43
Still another idea is that the oil and wine denote medicinal
supplies. That although food will be lacking, there will be an abundance of
medicine.44 This seems unlikely in view of the catastrophic conditions
(medicinal supplies require careful storage and efficient distribution) and the
number of deaths inferred.Others suggest another possibility. They point to a
similar passage in 1 Samuel which records famine conditions caused by rainy
conditions which destroyed the grain crop, but under which vineyards and olive
trees would flourish:
The proper understanding of the phrase “do not damage the
oil and the wine” is found in an event recorded in 1 Samuel 12. . . . Samuel
was threatening to call upon the Lord to bring thunder and rain as punishment.
Why? . . . Heavy rains at the time of harvest would destroy the wheat, thereby
bringing famine. . . As Nogah Hareuveni of Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Gardens
of Israel, has pointed out: “The ripe, heavy-eared wheat can suffer from a
downpour not only through physical damage from the force of the wind-driven
rain, but also by rotting from the sudden moisture combined with the high
temperatures that prevail in Israel by Shavuot (in late May-early June). This
interpretation explains why the Israelites cried out to Samuel ‘pray. . .to
save us from death’ (1S. 12:19)—from death by starvation that would follow the
destruction of the grain crop.”. . . “the oil and the wine,” will not be
affected by this rainstorm because they will have already been pollinated. In
fact, the water might even help them, thus giving oil and wine for all, rich
and poor alike.45
The reverse scenario might also be possible: that of
drought. “Since the roots of the olive and vine go deeper, they would not be
affected by a limited drought which would all but destroy the grain.”46
However, the nature of the famine which attends these “beginning of sorrows”
(Mat. 24:8) is probably uniquely severe in history and argues against
understanding the distinction between food items as denoting a limited famine.
This situation contrasts with a locust-induced famine, such as that of Joel, in
which all crops were ruined: “The field is wasted, the land mourns; for the
grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails” (Joel 1:10).
The problem with taking this as a reference to limited
famine is that it underrates the severity of the seals. This famine will be
serious enough to make it unique in history up to that time. The world has
already seen many limited famines, but never one like this. . . . So it is
wrong to take a major feature such as this prohibition against hurting the oil
and the wine and interpret it as a limitation on human hardship. It indicates
rather the inequity that will prevail. The poor will have it extremely hard
while the wealthy will experience no interruption to their luxurious
lifestyle.47
Both oil and wine are listed among the commercial wealth of
Babylon at the time of her destruction (Rev. 18:13+). See commentary on
Revelation 18:13.
Revelation 6:7
fourth seal
This is the last seal which will loose a horse and rider.
The first four seals are to be understood as a group, four being indicative of
their global effects. See Four: the Entire World, the Earth.
come and see
See commentary on Revelation 6:1.
Revelation 6:8
pale horse
Pale is χλωρός [chlōros] from which we derive chlorophyll,
which denotes the green pigments found in plants. It may denote a mottled
appearance, like the sorrel or dappled horses in Zechariah’s vision. See
Zechariah’s Horses. Here it denotes “the color of a person in sickness as
contrasted with the appearance of health,”48 for the name of the rider of the
pale horse is death (θάνατος [thanatos]).
Properly, “greenish-yellow,” like young grass or unripe
wheat. Homer applies it to honey, and Sophocles to the sand. Generally, “pale,
pallid.” Used of a mist, of sea-water, of a pale or bilious complexion.
Thucydides uses it of the appearance of persons stricken with the plague (ii.,
49). In Homer, it is used of the paleness of the face from fear, and so as
directly descriptive of fear (“Iliad,” x., 376; xv., 4). Of olive wood
(“Odyssey,” ix., 320, 379) of which the bark is gray.49
The word to describe the fourth horse’s color, chlōros
(“pale green”), is the color of grass and other vegetation in Mark 6:39 and
Rev. 8:7+; 9:4+, but in the present connection, designates the yellowish green
of decay, the pallor of death. It is a pale ashen color that images a face
bleached because of terror. It recalls a corpse in the advanced state of
corruption (Ford).50
Death, and Hades followed
Death and Hades are here personified (cf. Isa. 28:18 where
Death and Sheol sign a covenant). These two are often found together in
Scripture for Hades is the destination of the unsaved upon passing through the
gateway of death. This seems to be their relationship here because Hades
followed behind Death—taking in the soul and spirit of those who had first
died. Elsewhere, the appearance of Death with Hades may denote the destination
of the material and immaterial parts of man, respectively. For the body molders
in the grave (death) while the spirit and soul enter the underworld (Hades).
Thus, “Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them” may refer to the
release of the spirit and soul of the unsaved from imprisonment in Hades to be
joined with a bodily resurrection from the grave in order to stand before God
in judgment (Rev. 20:13+).The eventual casting of death and Hades into the Lake
of Fire (Rev. 20:14+) may describe the total victory over these unsavory
realities brought about by the cross of Jesus (Hos. 13:14; 1Cor. 15:21-26,
54-55; 2Ti. 1:10) or denote those destined for the lake—the unsaved dead whose
bodies remained in the grave and souls remained in Hades until the Great White
Throne Judgment. Jesus has the keys of Death and Hades. See commentary on
Revelation 1:18. Death and Hades either both ride the same horse, or Death is
the horseman and Hades follows on foot. In either case, the two are inseparable
as Hades takes in all that Death supplies.
power was given to them
Ultimate power rests with God who allows the judgment for
His purposes. See commentary on Revelation 6:2.
over a fourth of the earth
A staggering judgment when seen in relation to today’s
population:
If today’s [1992] world population figure of five billion is
used, . . . “one fourth of the earth” means that Death and Hades have
authority, which they apparently will exercise, to take the lives of one and a
quarter billion people. The magnitude of this catastrophe can hardly be grasped
because nothing comparable has happened throughout history (Swete). If limited
to two continents, which it will probably not be (Beckwith; Lenski; Mounce), it
will amount to the elimination of people from two of the world’s most populous
ones (Walvoord).51
Since Thomas wrote, the world population has risen to over 6
billion [December 2003] which would result in the death of over 1.5 billion
people.52 This number would be reduced by the believers in Christ who are taken
in the Rapture prior to this period.
sword. . . hunger. . . death. . . beasts
The fourfold source of judgment hints at its global scope.
See Four: the Entire World, the Earth. Sword is ῥομφαίᾳ [hromphaia]: “A large
and broad sword, used by barbaric peoples, especially the Thracians.”53 As has
frequently been the case in the past, hunger follows war: the second horseman
took peace from the earth and the effects of his ride contribute to the effectiveness
of the fourth horseman. Although the third horseman brought great famine— the
greatest experienced to that time—the famine now becomes even more severe. The
listing of alternative forms of death pictures inescapable judgment. Those who
escape death by the sword may die of hunger. Those who survive the hunger are
likely to perish from disease (death).54
Throughout human history, disease has killed people on a far
more massive scale than war. More Union and Confederate soldiers died from
disease during the Civil War than were killed in battle. An estimated 30
million people died during the great influenza epidemic of 1918-19 —more than
three times as many as the estimated 8.5 million soldiers who died in battle
during World War I.55
Those who survive the first three will be so weak as to be
unable to defend themselves from wild beasts which will become emboldened and
attack them.
So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an
astonishment, unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute
judgments on thee in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes; (I, Jehovah,
have spoken it;) when I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that
are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the
famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread; and I will send upon you
famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood
shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee: I, Jehovah, have
spoken it. (Eze. 5:15-17) [emphasis added]
Thus says the Lord GOD: “Pound your fists and stamp your
feet, and say, ’Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For
they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. He who is far off
shall die by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who
remains and is besieged shall die by the famine.” Thus will I spend My fury
upon them. (Eze. 6:11-12) [emphasis added]
From these passages we understand that what seem like
intensified natural disturbances (war, hunger, death, attack by beasts) are in
fact expressions of God’s judgment. Thus God’s wrath is already seen in the
fourth seal—well in advance of the sixth and seventh seals.56The picture being
drawn is one of no escape. No matter which group or location a man finds
himself in, there is a God-ordained judgment which will result in death:
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: “How much more when I send
my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil
beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!” (Eze. 14:21)
[emphasis added]
Thus shalt thou say unto them, “Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
‘As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword;
and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and
they that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.’
” (Eze. 33:27) [emphasis added]
Amos predicted this character of the day of Jehovah: “Woe
unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! Wherefore would ye have the day of
Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a
bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a
serpent bit him. Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even
very dark, and no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18-20).There is intentional irony
in God’s reversal of roles as men become the source of food for beasts (Gen.
9:2-3 cf. Eze. 29:5; 39:17-20; Rev. 19:17-18+). When man is disobedient to God,
He reverses the original divine order where man was given dominion over the
beasts (Gen. 1:26-28; 9:2-3) and gives man into the hand of beasts (Lev. 26:22;
Deu. 32:24). The beasts will be emboldened both because of the emaciated and
sickly condition of men and the scarceness of their own food supply. “Once food
becomes scarce, wild animals which generally leave man alone will begin to
attack man for food.”57
Revelation 6:9
Opening the Fifth and Sixth Seals
58
fifth seal
With the opening of the fifth seal, we break from the
judgments associated with the four horsemen. “There are no voices of command
from heaven under this seal, and no messengers dispatched from the throne; for
the reason that bloody persecutions of God’s servants come from beneath—not
from above.”59 We now leave the “beginning sorrows” spoken of by Jesus behind
and enter the time of tribulation characterized by martyrdom:
All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will
deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all
nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one
another, and will hate one another. (Mat. 24:8-10) [emphasis added]
The beginning of sorrows have passed and the Great
Tribulation is now upon the world, a time of unprecedented martyrdom and
anti-Semitism (Mat. 24:15-22; Rev. 12:6, 13-15+). “The futurist interpretation
takes these as the first martyrs of the tribulation of Daniel’s 70th Week. The
fifth seal corresponds to Mat. 24:8-28, martyrdoms.”60
under the altar
θυσιαστηρίου [thysiastēriou], used “of the altar of burnt
offering in the inner forecourt of the temple at Jerusalem . . .the heavenly
altar of Revelation also seems to be thought of as an altar of incense: Rev.
6:9+; Rev 8:3+, 5+; Rev 9:13+; Rev 14:18+; Rev 16:7+.”61 When Aaron and his
sons were consecrated to the priesthood, after the blood of the bull was put on
the horns of the altar of sacrifice (or burnt offering), the remaining blood
was poured “beside the base of the altar” (Ex. 29:12; Lev. 8:15). This pattern
was also followed for the sin offering (Lev. 4:7). The blood of the martyred
saints is considered as an “offering” before God as it accumulates at the base
of the altar during this time of intense persecution of all who name the name
of Christ (Mat. 24:9). “Like sacrifices, they had been slain for their
testimony. Not sacrifices of atonement, but of devotion.”62
The picture of souls immediately in God’s presence after
death is in harmony with 2Cor. 5:8, and the fact that the martyrs are beneath
the altar is consistent with the symbolism of Lev. 4:7, for the priest poured
the blood of the sacrifice at the bottom of the altar, and the blood
represented the life of the sacrifice (Lev. 17:11-14). So these martyrs will
sacrifice their lives for God, and Heaven acknowledges this.63
Some see this altar to be the altar of incense rather than
the altar of sacrifice.64 Yet the location of the martyrs under the altar has
more in common with the altar of sacrifice and there is no compelling reason to
connect this altar with the altar of incense upon which the prayers of the
saints are offered.
the souls
ψυχὰς [psychas], these have yet to attain a resurrection
body which they will receive prior to the Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20:4+). The
word can also denote physical life. “And they overcame him because of the blood
of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not
their life (ψυχὴν [psychēn]) even unto death” (Rev. 12:11+).65 Given the
location of the martyrs under the altar, souls may be intended to convey life.
In the same way that the “life (נְפְשׁ [nep̄eš]) of the flesh is in the blood”
(Lev. 17:11) and the blood was poured beneath the altar (Ex. 29:12), the souls
of the martyrs reside under the heavenly altar. Though their physical life was
terminated, they themselves are still very much alive:
Their slaying, then, is not the end of them. It is not the
total interruption of their being in all respects. It makes them invisible to
men in the flesh, in the natural state; but it does not hinder their living on
as souls, or their being visible to heavenly eyes, or to the eyes of John in
his supernatural and prophetic exaltation. The holy Apocalyptist tells us that
he “saw” them, although they “had been slain;” and heard them speaking with
loud voices, though their material tongues had been burnt to ashes, and their
corporeal organs of speech had been stiffened in death. It is altogether a
wrong interpretation of the Scriptures which represents the dead in a state of
non-existence, unconsciousness, or oblivion.66
who had been slain for the word of God
It is difficult to establish exactly when these saints were
martyred. Some argue that they were martyred prior to the opening of the fifth
seal, during the preceding four seals.
A. T. Robertson, who has been acclaimed as America’s premier
Greek authority of the 20th century, indicates that the verb form translated
“were slain” in Revelation 6:9+ represents action that was completed before the
action of the main verb “saw” . . . The fact that John did not see believers
being slain, but instead saw the disembodied souls of saints who had been slain
before he saw them, forces the conclusion that when Christ breaks the fifth
seal, it will not cause the martyrdom of those saints . . . The martyred saints
of the fifth seal will be living and dying during the first four seals.67
But it is difficult to avoid the emphasis a plain reading of
the verse puts upon the timing of the fifth seal and the revelation of the
martyrs. It seems clear that with the opening of the fifth seal God intends us
to realize that we have gone past the beginning of sorrows into the actual
Tribulation period. See Trouble Ahead.By now, a heightened religious
persecution attends the events upon the earth for these saints did not perish
due to beasts, famine, pestilence, or war—but were slain for the word of God.
Their testimony was seen as a dangerous and undesirable witness against the
false religious system riding the beast (Rev. 17:6+). At this point in the
sequence of events, the Antichrist has not yet become the center of all
worship:
[Some assume] that the fifth seal saints are martyred
because they would not bow to the Antichrist. But, again, there is nothing in
the context of the fifth seal to indicate this. To be sure, they are martyred
for their faith. But it does not say that it was specifically for refusing to
bow down to the Antichrist. The self-proclamation of deity by the Antichrist
takes place at the time of the Abomination of Desolation (Mat. 24:15; 2Th. 2:4)
which, . . . happens at the midpoint of the seven years. In Revelation, that
midpoint begins with chapter eleven, when the Temple is taken over by Gentiles
for 42 months (the second three and one-half years). Then Antichrist proceeds
to remove all opposition by killing the two witnesses (Rev. 11+) and
persecuting the Jews (Rev. 12+). He then proclaims himself to be God and sets
up his image (Rev. 13+). Only those saints in and subsequent to chapter
thirteen are being killed for refusing to accept the Antichrist.68
The revelation of the fifth seal makes clear that in the
future time of tribulation it will be most difficult to declare one’s faith in
the Lord Jesus. It may very well be that the majority of those who trust Christ
as Saviour in that day will be put to death. This is confirmed in Revelation 7+
where another picture of the martyred dead of the tribulation is given, and in
Revelation 13+ where death is inflicted on all who will not worship the beast.
Martyrdom in those days will be as common as it is uncommon today.69
the testimony which they held
Like the first martyr of the Church (Stephen, Acts 7:59) and
Antipas of the church at Pergamos (Rev. 2:13+) they will hold a consistent
testimony up to and beyond the point of death (Rev. 12:11+). They are faithful
sheep whose blood is spilled for God’s sake. “Yet for Your sake we are killed
all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” (Ps 44:22 cf. Rom.
8:36). Their death is as much a part of their testimony as their life. Those
who “die in the Lord” have works which follow them (Rev. 14:13+).
Revelation 6:10
How long, O Lord
Lord is δεσπότης [despotēs] which emphasizes His ownership
of the saints, as a master has slaves,70 or a ruler over a household (Tit.
2:9).71 Let us always keep in mind that He can do whatever He desires with His
sheep. In this case, He allows their slaughter as a testimony to their faith
and the evil unfolding below which will finally be judged.
judge and avenge
When God finally tramples the winepress of His wrath it is
described as “the day of vengeance,” for “the year of My redeemed has come”
(Isa. 63:3-4). This then, is the judgment associated with the fifth seal—that
petition of God by the martyred saints seals the fate of those who put them to
death. One of the duties of the Goel, the nearest of kin, was to avenge the
blood of the family member who had been murdered (Num. 35:19-21; Deu. 19:6;
Jos. 20:3). See commentary on Revelation 5:9.
dwell on the earth
Their persecutors appear to be currently living on the earth
which argues for understanding these as recent martyrs from the times described
by the seals. This phrase denotes the earth dwellers and has significance far
beyond merely designating people who happen to be living upon the earth. In
this book, it takes on a soteriological and eschatological sense as a technical
phrase describing those in the end times who refuse salvation, persecute the
saints, and continue to blaspheme God in the midst of judgment (Rev. 3:10+; Rev
6:10+; Rev 11:10+; Rev 12:12+; Rev 13:8+, 12+, 14+; Rev 14:6+; Rev 17:8+).72
These are the ones being tested by this time of trial from God (Rev. 3:10+) and
rejoice when God’s two witnesses are killed (Rev. 11:10+). It is they who are
subject to the wrath of both God and the devil (Rev. 12:12+) and who will be
deceived into worshiping the beast (Rev. 13:12+, 14+). Even though an angel
preaches the everlasting gospel to each one (Rev. 14:6+), they continue in
their rejection of God to the end. Therefore, their names are not written in
the Book of Life (Rev. 17:8+). See Book of Life.
Revelation 6:11
white robe
These are the white robes promised to the overcomers, for
their nakedness is clothed (Rev. 12:11+ cf. Rev. 3:5+, 18+). This is the
righteousness of God which is obtained, not by works, but by faith (Rom. 3:5,
21-26; 10:3; 2Cor. 5:21; Php. 3:9; Jas. 1:20). See commentary on Revelation
3:5.
a little while longer
Some see the announcement of the angel that “there should be
delay no longer” as the terminus of this period (Rev. 10:6+). But the context
of the angel’s proclamation here concerns the completion of “the mystery of God
. . . as He declared to His servants the prophets” (Rev. 10:7+). Perhaps the
two time periods coincide in that martyrdom continues until the time of the
final victory (Rev. 19+).
until . . . fellow servants and their brethren . . . would
be killed
Their fellow servants and their brethren denotes a single
category. “Figure of speech Hendiadys of Nouns. ‘Fellow servants and brethren’
denote by this figure not two separate classes of persons, but one class, their
fellow servants who were their brethren.”73Here again a most difficult reality
presents itself. God Who has the power to step in and end this holocaust at any
moment instead chooses to allow it to play out in all its gruesome detail.
Although we will never fully apprehend His divine patience, we know that it is
explained, in part, by His great mercy toward those who have not yet turned,
the glorious testimony being accrued by the martyred saints, and the filling up
of the cup of injustice of the perpetrators. If He were to move immediately in vengeance
at the time of their request, then some would be eternally lost that are yet to
become their brethren.
This section of Scripture is the first intimation that the
reign of Antichrist is to witness the greatest revival that the world has ever
seen. More millions will be saved under the preaching of God’s witnesses in
these seven years than in many times that period in this present age.74
Their request has much in common with the prayers of the
saints in the bowls in Revelation 5:8+ and is recorded by the Psalmist, “O Lord
God, to whom vengeance belongs - O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud. Lord, how long
will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?” (Ps. 94:1-3).The “golden
age” to be ushered in by the preaching of the gospel as all the world turns to
Christ is an unscriptural myth. A golden age will come, but not by worldwide
response to the gospel:
Surely this ought to be sufficient to convince all
Christians today that the gospel is not intended to cover the world, or to
bring in universal peace and blessing. This dispensation of grace (rejected) is
to be followed by a dispensation of judgment. Not until after that shall
Jerusalem be the centre of God’s presence and government.75
The Gospel, as now preached, is not, and in the present
order of things never will be, triumphant. This is demonstrated in the seven
Epistles, and is the common teaching of the Scriptures on the subject. A
leading feature in its entire history is, that it is mostly rejected. It is
universally preached “as a witness to all nations,” but nations, as such, with
all their patronage, have never received it, and have ever been the slayers of
its witnesses.76
killed as they were
They are probably being slain initially at the hand of the
harlot who is “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus” (Rev. 17:6+).77 She rides the beast who probably does the
actual execution at her behest. Once she is destroyed (Rev. 17:16-17+), then
the beast himself will carry out their martyrdom. Many will be beheaded (Rev.
20:4+).
Revelation 6:12
sixth seal
“It would be difficult to paint any scene more moving or
more terrible than that described at the opening of the sixth seal.”78 Up to
now, the effects of the first five seals, although unprecedented in their
global impact, could still be explained away as an intensification of what
history already records: conflict, war, death, famine, disease, and martyrdom.
With the opening of the sixth seal, all such explanations vanish for the signs
which attend this seal are unmistakable in their uniqueness and scope.
The magnitude of the earthquake and cosmic disturbances that
will occur when Christ breaks the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-14+) forces the
conclusion that this will be an awesome expression of the wrath of God, not the
work of unregenerate mankind.79
When the sixth seal is opened, there are unmistakable global
signs of astronomical proportions, but the Lamb has yet to ride forth on His
horse (Rev. 19:11+)—He is still in heaven loosing seals. How can His riding
forth to destroy the armies of the earth be tonight if none of these
unmistakable signs have transpired? Yet Scripture teaches His coming is
imminent. The answer to this dilemma, as we’ve seen, is in recognizing that
signs precede His final arrival in judgment, but not His coming as a bridegroom
for His bride—a separate coming which precedes these events. See Rapture.By the
time of the sixth seal, the Day of the Lord must be already underway. Having
already come without warning, like a thief in the night, it is now made
unmistakable to the earth dwellers in the cosmic signs which attend this seal:
Paul declared that the broad Day of the Lord will come like
a thief in the night—suddenly, unexpectedly, when the victims are unprepared
[1Th. 5:2]. A thief depends upon the element of surprise for success. He does
not give his intended victims a forewarning of his coming. Paul’s point—the
unsaved will be given no forewarning of the coming of the broad Day of the
Lord—rules out any of the seals of Revelation as being forewarnings of the
beginning of the broad Day. For example, it rules out the sixth seal (Rev.
6:12-14+) which will cause great cosmic disturbances and a major earthquake
causing the people of the world to flee to the mountains in terror (Rev.
6:15-17+). . . . if the disturbances of the sixth seal were a precursor to the
Day of the Lord, the unsaved thereby would be given a graphic forewarning of
its coming and will not be caught by surprise when it comes. Thus, the Day of
the Lord would not come unexpectedly like a thief in the night.80
a great earthquake
The uniquely intense earthquakes which attend the judgments
of the Tribulation period provide tangible evidence of God’s hand in the events
which transpire (Rev. 6:12+; 8:5+; 11:13+; 16:18+ cf. Mat. 27:54). During the
Tribulation, even though men understand the source of the earthquakes, most
fail to repent (Rev. 6:16+). A rare exception is the case of the great
earthquake in Jerusalem, where those who avoid death “gave glory to the God of
heaven” (Rev. 11:13+).Jesus said great earthquakes would be one of the signs of
“the beginning of sorrows” (Mat. 24:7-8). The OT prophets also predicted a time
where God would intensely shake the earth.81 Haggai revealed that global
earthquakes and the overthrow of the Gentile kingdoms would precede the return
of God’s glory to His (millennial) Temple:82
For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little
while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake
all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill
this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. . . . I will overthrow the
throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will
overthrow the chariots And those who ride in them; the horses and their riders
shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. ‘In that day,’ says the
Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’
says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’
says the Lord of hosts. (Hag. 2:6-7, 22-23)
Joel saw earthquakes associated with the mighty judgments of
God poured out in the Day of the Lord, judgments which were intended to cause
people to turn to God.
The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun
and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives
voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who
executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; who can
endure it? “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” (Joel 2:10-12)
The earthquake affects more than just the face of the earth.
Σεισμὸς [Seismos] means “shaking; of a storm on the sea, with waves caused by
high winds [Mat. 8:24].”83 In the Septuagint, it is used in Joel 2:10 to
describe the heavens trembling.84 This catastrophic event extends beyond the
geography of the earth to effect the cosmic realm.
the sun became black as sackcloth of hair
Jesus said that cosmic signs would be associated with the
time of the end (Mat. 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:11). From other
considerations, we understand that the signs associated with this sixth seal
are not the only cosmic signs of this time period.85
The Isaiah 13:9-10 and Joel 3:14-15 passages [concerning
cosmic disturbances] clearly take place within the Day of the Lord, . . . Joel
2:30-31 describes cosmic disturbances before the Day of the Lord. In the
prophetic scheme of things, there are several cosmic disturbances.86
There are reasons for concluding that the cosmic
disturbances related to the beginning of the Joel 3 Day of the Lord and the
Second Coming of Christ immediately after the Great Tribulation are not the
same as those of the sixth seal. First, the cosmic disturbances of Joel 3 will
occur when the armies of the nations have gathered for war in Israel. Those
armies will not begin to gather for war until the sixth bowl has been poured
out (Rev. 16:12-16+), long after the sixth seal—one seal, seven trumpets, and five
bowls after the cosmic disturbances of the sixth seal. . . . other cosmic
disturbances will occur after those of the sixth seal. A third of the sun,
moon, and stars will be darkened by the fourth trumpet (Rev. 8:12+); the sun
will be darkened by smoke from the abyss at the fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:1-2+);
the sun will scorch people on the earth with fire and fierce heat when the
fourth bowl is poured out (Rev. 16:8-9+). . . . when the cosmic disturbances of
the sixth seal take place, kings, military men, and all other classes of people
will run to the caves and rocks of the mountains to hide. . . . By contrast,
when the cosmic disturbances immediately before the Joel 3 Day of the Lord
occur after the sixth bowl, the kings and military men will not run and hide.
Rather, they will remain assembled together in battle array to boldly attempt
war against God, His Messiah, and the holy angels (Ps. 2:1-3; Joel 3:9-16; Zec.
12:2-9; 14:1-6, 12-14).87
The sun and moon were created for “signs” (Gen. 1:14).88
They now provide indication that the events associated with this seal cannot be
explained by natural phenomena—but result from the One Who controls the
universe!The darkening of the sun may be from the perspective of viewers on the
earth—due to material ejected into the upper atmosphere by the earthquake or
the impact of asteroids in the next verse. Although the sun is darkened, the
moon continues to reflect light (as if the path light follows between the sun
and moon is only minimally affected). In the fifth trumpet judgment, it is
smoke which darkens the sun (Rev. 9:2+).Eventually, like the earth, the sun and
moon are judged to show those who dwell on the earth Who the true source of
light is—the Lord Himself. If the trend in our own day is any indication,
worship of the heavenly bodies will still be prevalent at that time and so God
interferes with that which man has idolized (Zep. 1:5).89 As always, the
message is to turn from dead idols to serve the living God:
The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for
brightness shall the moon give light to you; but the Lord will be to you an
everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down,
nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting
light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. (Isa. 60:19-20)
the moon became like blood
ἡ σελήνη ὅλη [hē selēnē holē], the entire moon in all its
fullness. John uses simile to describe the effects upon the moon. The entire
moon takes on a reddish appearance, as when atmospheric dust darkens or
moisture refracts its light. The red appearance conveys the idea of judgment.
Revelation 6:13
stars of heaven fell to the earth
Stars is ἀστέρες [asteres] from which we get the word
asteroid. The word is also used of the supernatural manifestation which led the
magi to the babe (Mat. 2:2), Christ who is the “morning star” (Rev. 2:27+;
22:16+), angels (Rev. 1:16+; Rev 2:1+; Rev 3:1+; Rev 9:1+), and astronomical
objects (Mat. 24:29; Mark 13:25; 1Cor. 15:41; Rev. 6:3+; Rev. 8:10+). Here and
in Revelation 8:10+ stars are said to fall to the earth. It seems best to
understand these as asteroids or meteors for even the smallest sun would consume
the entire planet should it ever fall to earth.90
The stars proper are certainly still found in their places
after the fulfilment of this vision. (See Rev. 8:12+.) And remembering that the
Scriptures often speak in the common language of men, without reference to the
distinctions of science, and that even science itself still popularly speaks of
“falling stars,” when it means simply meteoric phenomena, it appears but
reasonable that we should understand the apostle to be speaking of something of
the same sort.91
The most likely identification of these particular falling
stars is that of a great swarm of asteroids that pummel the earth. Such an
event has never occurred in historic times, but scientists have long speculated
about the probability of either past or future earth catastrophes caused by
encountering a swarm of asteroids.92
“The sixth seal presents a disturbance of nature so vast
that we naturally seek to explain it as hyperbole,”93 but this is not merely
hyperbolic language.94 (See Interpreting Symbols.) These are the very signs
that Jesus predicted would attend the period preceding His return:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will
be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son
of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. (Mat. 24:29-30 cf. Mark 13:24-25; Luke 23:44-45; Rev. 1:7+)
[emphasis added]
Isaiah had been shown this fearsome time:
Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath
and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners
from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their
light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause
its light to shine. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for
their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the
haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a
man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens,
and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts and
in the day of His fierce anger. (Isa. 13:9-13) [emphasis added]
In these judgments, God is shattering the puny pillars of
support which men trust in when they turn away from Him.
See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did
not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if
we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth;
but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but
also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things
that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot
be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot
be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear. (Heb. 12:25-28) [emphasis added]
The increasingly severe judgments which fall during this
period are specifically designed to remove hope in all else but God so that all
creatures recognize their utter dependence upon the Creator. Hope placed
anywhere else is idolatry. God now begins a systematic destruction of the
natural order (sun, moon, stars, earth) which men have often deferred to in
place of the Creator.95 In its failure to recognize the Creator,
environmentalism eventually fails in its effort to preserve the creation.
Revelation 6:14
the sky receded
receded is ἀπεχωρίσθη [apechōristhē]. The term is used to
describe the parting of Paul and Silas from Barnabas and Mark (Acts 15:39). The
sky receded causing it to be “split apart” (NASB). At the appearance of the
Judge at the Great White Throne Judgment, “the earth and heaven fled away and
there was found no place for them” (Rev. 20:11+). The psalmist predicted a time
when the heavens would “grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change
them” (Ps. 102:25).
Come near, you nations, to hear; and heed, you people! Let
the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth
from it. For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, and His fury
against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over
to the slaughter. Also their slain shall be thrown out; their stench shall rise
from their corpses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. All the
host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a
scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as
fruit falling from a fig tree. (Isa. 34:1-4) [emphasis added]
Passages such as this tempt the interpreter to jettison the
literal approach and “go symbolic.”96 Yet events which are so far removed from
our daily experience as to be completely foreign need not be incredible when
initiated by the hand of the Almighty. It is as if we were to try to explain
the design of a nuclear plant to the ant! The construction of the starry realm
is far beyond our grasp and the description which meets us here is at best an
approximation which only hints at the full dimensions of what transpires.
Clearly, it is an enormous and terrifying sight which could not even begin to
be explained by modern physics. “This is the human perception of the magnitude
of the disturbance, but is not the ultimate passage of the heavens, which does
not come until Rev. 20:11+; . . . The impression of all these heavenly
phenomena is that the universe is coming apart.”97In response to these events,
men recognize the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16+). Mills offers an unusual
suggestion concerning the purpose for the splitting of the sky:
In order to ensure that there is no misunderstanding on the
source of these disasters, God will open the heavens for an instant, and the
people on earth will be given a glimpse of God and the Lamb on their thrones
(Rev. 6:16+). Revelation 6:14+ pictures an extended scroll suddenly being
split; the two ends recoil, spring-like, around the end rod to which the scroll
is attached. Suddenly, earth can peer into Heaven as Stephen did in Acts 7:56.
Man sees Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb. Men will know they are
experiencing the wrath of God, and this knowledge will be even more fearsome to
them than the great natural catastrophes they will have endured.98
every mountain and island was moved out of its place
The seismic disturbances will be of such magnitude that the
entire geography of the earth is permanently altered.99 The extensive mapping
of the earth, both by GPS and sonar, will eventually be for naught as in a
moment every geophysical mapping database is rendered obsolete.100 As great as
this earthquake is, it is but a precursor to an even greater one associated
with the seventh bowl at which “every island fled away and the mountains were
not found” (Rev. 16:19+). It would appear that the islands sink from sight and
the mountains are leveled by God’s final outpouring of wrath.
Revelation 6:15
kings of the earth
These are the kings which fail to “kiss the Son, lest He be
angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little” (Ps.
2:12). They are the “kings of earth who committed fornication and lived
luxuriously” with Babylon, who were ruled by her, but will mourn her fall (Rev.
17:2+, 18+; 18:3+, 9+). They are the kings who “gather . . . to the battle of
that great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14+; 19:19+). Here, they are “gathered
together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the
prison” (Isa. 24:20).
the great men . . . the mighty men
μεγιστανες [megistanes], the great ones and ἰσχυροὶ
[ischyroi], strong ones. These are men who do not occupy official positions of
rulership or military command, but who nevertheless influence and control the
affairs of men from behind the scenes: from board rooms, golf courses, and
luxury yachts. They are the “captains of industry.” As the globalization of our
world continues, power will reside more and more in the hands of these leaders
of multinational corporations.
commanders
χιλίαρχοι [chiliarchoi] from χιλιάς [chilias] one thousand.
The leaders over a thousand troops. Roughly equivalent to a major or
colonel.101
every slave and every free man
Several verses indicate that even at the supposed “height”
of humanism’s achievements at the time of the end, slavery will not yet have
been abolished worldwide (Rev. 13:16+; 19:18+). The emphasis is upon the
comprehensive nature of the judgments. The magnitude of the disturbances coming
upon the earth is such that every man is affected.
hide themselves in caves
Here is the classic record of man’s response to his own
sin—a vain attempt to hide from the omnipresent, omniscient, almighty God (Gen.
3:8; Rev. 6:16+). In the irony of God, those who persecuted God’s servants, who
were “destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy,” who
“wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb.
11:38) now experience firsthand a similar affliction from the very hand of God.
Revelation 6:16
fall on us
So intense is their fear of God’s judgments that they
temporarily seek even death—anything to flee from His manifest presence (Hos.
10:8; Luke 23:30; Rev. 9:6+).
hide us from the face of Him
Attempting to hide from God illustrates how sin and fear
warp the intellect, for it is impossible to hide from the Omnipresent One (Job
34:22). How different the motivation of the godly from the ungodly. Those with
faith in Christ desire His presence and seek His face. (Ps. 17:15; Pr. 8:7;
Isa. 45:19; Isa. 58:2; 65:1; Jer. 29:13; Amos 5:4). Those who reject God fear
His presence and flee His face. This dichotomy is seen today in the reaction of
people to the preaching of the gospel:
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who
are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma
of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
And who is sufficient for these things? (2Cor. 2:15-16)
At the scene of God’s final judgment of the ungodly, there
will be nowhere available to hide from His face, for heaven and earth will have
fled away (Rev. 20:11+). All things are naked in His sight!102
who sits on the throne
See commentary on Revelation 4:2.
the wrath of the Lamb
Here we encounter a phrase of seeming contradiction. The
Lamb who was silently led to the slaughter (Isa. 53:7) now metes out wrath. It
is the Lamb which opens each of the seals bringing forth these judgments which
are indicative of the wrath of God. See commentary on Revelation 5:5.The wrath
of God began earlier, when the Lamb arose from His seat to open the first seal.
Now it is recognized for what it is. “It should be noted that the passage does
not say that the wrath of God begins only with the sixth seal, but that only
with the sixth seal do unbelievers recognize that it is the wrath of God.”103
Those on the earth are ignorant of the Scriptures. Yet even they recognize that
the time of God’s wrath has now come upon the earth (Rev. 11:18+; 14:9-10+, 19+;
15:1+, 7+; 16:1+, 19+). See commentary on Revelation 5:6.
Revelation 6:17
the great day of His wrath
The great day is The Day of the Lord, a unique time yet
future when God will radically intervene in history to demonstrate in an
irrefutable way Who He is.
The primary Old Testament passages from which the images in
the sixth seal are drawn prove that the great day must be the Day of the Lord
(Isa. 2:10-11, 19-21; 13:9-13; 34:4, 8; Eze. 32:7-8; Hos. 10:8; Joel 2:11, 30;
Zep. 1:14; Mal. 4:5).104
First, the expression the Day of the Lord refers to God’s
special intervention into world events to judge His enemies, accomplish His
purpose for history, and thereby demonstrate who He is—the sovereign God of the
universe (Isa. 2:10-22; Eze. 13:5, 9, 14, 21, 23; Eze. 30:3, 8, 19, 25-26).
Second, several Days of the Lord already have occurred in which God
demonstrated His sovereign rule by raising up nations to execute His judgement
on other nations. For example, He raised up Babylon to judge Egypt and its allies
during the 500s B.C. (Jer. 46:2, 10; Eze. 30:3-6). However, the Bible also
foretells a future Day of the Lord.105
At the outset of the day of the Lord, human trials will be
prolonged and comparable to a woman’s labor before giving birth to a child
(Isa. 13:8; 26:17-19; 66:7-9; Jer. 30:6-8; Mic. 4:9, 10; cf. Mat. 24:8; 1Th.
5:3). This phase of growing human agony will be climaxed by the Messiah’s
personal return to earth to terminate the period of turmoil through direct
judgment.106
The great day which has been on the horizon for thousands of
years has finally arrived. Men will experience unparalleled fear and conditions
that have never before prevailed upon the earth:
Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as
destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s
heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of
them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one
another; their faces will be like flames. Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will
destroy its sinners from it. (Isa. 13:6-9)
The proud technologies of man, and infrastructure upon which
it depends, will quickly collapse in the midst of this time of divine
retribution. Death will be so common that burial will be uncommon as the flesh
of men is treated as so much garbage:
The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens
quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD 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 will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk
like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be
poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.” (Zep. 1:14-17) [emphasis
added]
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and
all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is
coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them
neither root nor branch.” (Mal. 4:1-2)
Not only will God pour forth his wrath upon the Gentile
nations, but the Jewish nation will also undergo a time of unparalleled trouble
designed to purge out the unbelieving rebels and turn the remainder back to
God. In the midst of this intense judgment, God has promised that a believing
remnant will survive (see Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation):
Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning
Israel and Judah. “For thus says the LORD: ’We have heard a voice of trembling,
of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor
with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman
in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none
is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of
it.” (Jer. 30:4-7) [emphasis added]
Jesus also spoke of this fearful time:
And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the
stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the
waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those
things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
(Luke 21:25-26)
This is that great day for which the angels who did not keep
their proper domain are reserved for judgment—they will be used in judgment
against men (Rev. 9+). See The Day of the Lord, Jacob’s Trouble and the Great
Tribulation.The wrath is said to be of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16+). This is extremely
significant because those who are covered by the blood of the Lamb prior to
this day (1Pe. 1:17-19) are exempted from experiencing His wrath—they are His
bride (Luke 21:36; Rom. 5:9; 1Th. 5:9; Rev. 3:10+). See commentary on
Revelation 3:10. See Rapture.
has come
ἦλθεν [ēlthen], aorist tense which normally denotes past
time. The day has already come in the opening of the sixth seal. God’s wrath is
being poured out prior to the seventh seal (which initiates the seven trumpet
judgments). This contradicts the pre-wrath rapture view which holds that the
seals represent “Man’s wrath through Antichrist” [emphasis added]107. While it
is true that the aorist tense can be used to describe a future event
(proleptic),108 it is more often used of actions which have already transpired.109
Advocates of the pre-wrath rapture view argue that the pronouncement associated
with the sixth seal is anticipatory of the wrath of God, and not in reaction to
it.110 Since the aorist can represent events either in the past or future, the
form of the verb itself (aorist) cannot settle the matter. Instead, the context
must indicate which meaning is in view. The use of this same word within the
larger context of the book of Revelation argues for understanding has come as
denoting a past or present event which has just arrived.Mention of this
specific aorist form rendered has come (ἦλθεν [ēlthen]) in the book of
Revelation, include the following:
1. “Then He
came and took the scroll” (Rev. 5:7+).
2. “For the
great day of His wrath has come” (Rev. 6:17+).
3. “Another
angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.” (Rev. 8:3+).
4. “The
nations were angry, and Your wrath has come” (Rev. 11:18+).
5. “Fear God
and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come” (Rev. 14:7+).
6. “Thrust in
Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap” (Rev. 14:15+).
7. “Then one
of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came” (Rev. 17:1+).
8. “Five have
fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come” (Rev. 17:10+). (It is important
in this instance to observe that ἦλθεν [ēlthen] merely denotes come. The future
aspect of the statement, not yet, comes from another word (οὔπω [oupō].)
9. “That
great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come”
(Rev. 18:10+).
10. “Rejoice
and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come” (Rev. 19:7+).
11. “One of the
seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to
me” (Rev. 21:9+).
In each of these cases, the verb describes something in the
past, in the present, or in the immediate future—having “just now” come. “The
aorist may be used for stating a present reality with the certitude of a past
event. This idiom is a device for emphasis. It is commonly used of a state
which has just been realized, or a result which has just been accomplished, or
is on the point of being accomplished. (John 13:31; Mat. 3:17; 1Cor. 4:18).”111
In none of its appearances in Revelation is it rendered by the translators as a
true future tense (e.g., shall come, will come, is coming).The pre-wrath
rapture view requires its use here to be anticipatory over a period—spanning
the events of the next chapter where the 144,000 are sealed and a multitude of
martyrs are revealed—reaching until the seventh seal is loosed (Rev. 8:1+).
Within the larger context of the book of Revelation this verb form does not
denote what pre-wrath rapture proponents require. The most that can be said is
that in some cases it describes an event which is “just now” happening, on the
boundary between the present and the future (e.g., the impending destruction of
Babylon in Rev. 18:10+, the arrival of the marriage of the Lamb in Rev. 19:7+).
The only time an aorist indicative speaks of something
future or something about to happen, however, is if it is a dramatic aorist (H.
E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament [New
York: Macmillan, 1927], p. 198), a futuristic aorist (BDF, par. 333 [2]), or a
proleptic aorist (Nigel Turner, Syntax, vol. 3 of A Grammar of New Testament
Greek [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963], p. 74). Some contextual feature
must be present to indicate clearly these exceptional usages. No such feature
exists in the context of the sixth seal, so these special uses are not options
here. . . . The verb in Rev. 6:17+ must be a constantative aorist looking back
in time to the point in the past when the great day of wrath arrived.112
When we examine the immediate context of this passage—the
seismic and astronomical disturbances—we find that Isaiah elsewhere attributes
these phenomena as being part of the Day of the Lord:
Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror
of the LORD and the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be
humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall
be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon
everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up-And it shall be brought
low—upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all
the oaks of Bashan; upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that
are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; upon all
the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man
shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD
alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. They
shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the
terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the
earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his
idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and
bats, To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged
rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises
to shake the earth mightily. (Isa. 2:10-21) [emphasis added]
Isaiah tells us that in that day, not before the day, men
will hide in holes of the rocks and caves.113 They are hiding from the terror
of the LORD when He arises to shake the earth mightily. Their hiding is not
anticipatory, but reactionary. In other words, the events of the sixth seal are
part of the Day of the Lord.
The reaction of the unbelieving world to the terrors
unleashed by the sixth seal will not be one of repentance (cf. Rev. 9:21+;
16:11+), but of mindless panic. They will finally acknowledge what believers
have been saying all along, that the disasters they have experienced are God’s
judgment. [emphasis added]114
In what way could the events of the sixth seal be said to be
“Man’s wrath” [emphasis added]115 as pre-wrath rapture advocates hold? These
events occur “when He opened the sixth seal” [emphasis added] (Rev. 6:12+). Who
is He? The Lamb of Revelation 6:1+! It is Jesus Christ who directly initiates
these judgments. And how could astronomical and seismic manifestations such as
these reflect the wrath of puny men? For what man could cause asteroids to fall
to the earth and the sky to recede as a scroll (Rev. 6:13-14+)?
Isaiah 2:10-22 foretold the future time when people,
including the proud and lofty, will flee in terror to hide in the holes of the
rocks and caves of the earth “for the fear of the LORD, and for the glory of
his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isa. 2:11). . . .
note that Isaiah indicated he was writing about the Day of the Lord, from which
we can conclude that the Day of the Lord . . . will include the sixth seal, and
that seal will involve Day of the Lord wrath.116
See When Does the Day of the Lord Dawn?
who is able to stand
τίς δύναται σταθῆναι [tis dynatai stathēnai]. Able is
present tense. The phrase could be rendered: who is presently able to stand.
Their exclamation does not concern a potential future situation, as if the
wrath were to begin after the seventh seal. They are presently experiencing the
wrath and recognize it by the events which have just transpired which have
driven them to hide in caves and in the rocks. When the sky splits and rolls up
like a scroll, mountains and islands move out of their place, and asteroids
fall to earth, there is little doubt concerning the power involved—it is the
judgment of God! These events are not a precursor to God’s wrath, they are the
result of His wrath.As Joel said, “For the day of the Lord is great and very
terrible; Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11b). It will be a time of unprecedented
bloodshed and death, However, in the midst of these things, there are some who
are able to stand because they are afforded special protection from God. The
144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel, Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus,
are protected so that their gospel mission (Rev. 7:9+) can be accomplished
during this time of unprecedented upheaval (Rev. 7:3-8+).As for the earth
dwellers, they will remain in denial:
But then, amazingly, even this would pass. After these few
terrifying days, the stars stopped falling and the terrible shakings ceased.
The survivors emerged from their shelters and began again to rationalize their
resistance to God. After all, these calamities could be explained
scientifically, so perhaps they had been too quick to attribute them to God’s
wrath. They quickly set about rebuilding their damaged structures and became
more resolute in their opposition to the gospel of Christ.117
The book of Revelation discredits those who hold that God is
so loving and kind that He will never judge people who have not received His
Son. Though the modern mind is reluctant to accept the fact that God will judge
the wicked, the Bible clearly teaches that He will. The Scriptures reveal a God
of love as clearly as they reveal a God of wrath who will deal with those who
spurn the grace proffered in the Lord Jesus Christ. The passage before us is a
solemn word that there is inevitable judgment ahead for those who will not
receive Christ by faith.118
Dear reader, is your citizenship in heaven? Or do you remain
an earth dweller yet?
Friends and brethren, what a mercy that day is not yet upon
us! There is a Rock to which we still may fly and pray, with hope of security
in its wide-open clefts. It is the Rock of Ages. There are mountains to which
we may yet betake ourselves, and be forever safe from all the dread convulsions
which await the world. They are the mountains of salvation in Christ Jesus. I
believe I am addressing some who have betaken themselves to them. Brethren,
“hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering; for He is faithful
that promised.” (Heb. 10:23.) But others are still lingering in the plains of
Sodom, who need to take this warning to heart as they never yet have done. O ye
travellers of the judgment, seek ye the Lord while He may be found, and call
upon Him while He is near! And may God in His mercy hide us all from the
condemnation that awaits an unbelieving world!119
Amen!
Notes
1Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 1-7 (Chicago, IL: Moody Press,
1992), Rev. 6:1.
2Ibid.
3Alva J. McClain, The Greatness Of The Kingdom (Winona Lake,
IN: BMH Books, 1959), 56.
4Keith H. Essex, “The Rapture and the Book of Revelation,”
in Richard L. Mayhue, ed., The Master’s Seminary Journal, vol. 13 no. 1 (Sun
Valley, CA: The Master’s Seminary, Spring 2002), 230.
5John MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), Rev. 6:1.
6Albrecht Durer (1471 - 1528). Image courtesy of the
Connecticut College Wetmore Print Collection.
7 “Both passages involve similar descriptions to the
approaching end.”—Renald E. Showers, The Pre-Wrath Rapture View (Grand Rapids,
MI: Kregel Publications, 2001), 11. “The beginning of birth pangs and the first
four seals are the same and . . . take place during the first half of the 70th
week.”—Renald E. Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come (Bellmawr, NJ: The Friends
of Israel Gospel Ministry, 1995), 16. “A comparison of Christ’s description of
the beginning of birth pangs in Matthew 24:5-7 with the first four seals of
Revelation 6:1-8+ indicates that the beginning of birth pangs and the first
four seals are the same thing.”—Ibid., 25.
8Ibid., 63.
9J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of
Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), 125.
10As another example of Anti-supernatural Bias, consider
Mounce’s observation: “As usual, John modifies his sources [Zechariah] with
great freedom. Apparently for Mounce, it is John who is determining the content
of his vision!”—Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977), Rev. 6:2.
11Thomas, Revelation 1-7, Rev. 6:2.
12Fausset sees this rider as “Evidently Christ, whether in
person, or by His angel, preparatory to His coming again, as appears from Rev.
19:11+, 12+.”—A. R. Fausset, “The Revelation of St. John the Divine,” in Robert
Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, A Commentary, Critical and
Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research
Systems, Inc., 1997, 1877), Rev. 6:2.
13Alan F. Johnson, Revelation: The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), Rev. 6:2.
14“How the Lamb who opens the seal can be the effect of the
opening, and at the same time be the rider on a white horse, we cannot
understand.”—E. W. Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI:
Kregel Publications, 1984, 1935), Rev. 6:2.
15All four riders are representative personifications of
forces. With this rider, there is also a correlation to an individual which the
“spirit of antichrist” brings forth (1Jn. 4:3). “This rider, like the other
three, is not an individual, but a personification of a growing movement or
force that will be at work during this future period.”—Thomas, Revelation 1-7,
Rev. 6:2.
16“Rabbi Akiba proclaimed Bar Kokhba as Messiah in A.D. 132;
the whole Jewish community of Crete followed a messiah named Moses in the fifth
century; Abu Issa of Isfahan raised an army of 10,000 men; and European Jewry
crowned Shabbetai Zvi messiah in the seventeenth century, although he later
converted to Islam!”—Randall Price, Jerusalem In Prophecy (Eugene, OR: Harvest
House Publishers, 1998), 192.
17Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 105-108.
18Jerome Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992), Rev. 6:2.
19Marvin Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), 142.
20Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation, Rev. 6:17.
21Arthur Walkington Pink, The Antichrist (Oak Harbor, WA:
Logos Research Systems, 1999, 1923), s.v. “The Career of the Antichrist.”
22J. Dwight Pentecost, “Daniel,” in John F. Walvoord and Roy
B. Zuck, eds., The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Wheaton, IL: SP Publications,
1983), Dan. 8:23.
23MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament
Commentary, Rev. 6:2.
24Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 108-109.
25“The Greek language has two words meaning ‘crown,’ One is
the word diadem, which is a king’s crown. It is the crown of a sovereign and of
a person who is royal by his nature and by his position—a king. This is the
kind of crown that Jesus wears.”—Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of
Messiah, rev ed (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), 160. “That the figure is
not Messiah is indicated by the fact that the crown here is a stephanos crown,
the crown of an overcomer or victor. It is not the diadem crown, the crown of
sovereignty and royalty, the type of crown Messiah will wear in chapter
19.”—Ibid., 206. “This rider wears the conqueror’s crown (stephanos); Christ
will have a different kind of crown—the crown of kings (diadema).”—Showers,
Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 105. “This rider wears a stephanos, a crown won as a
prize; in Rev. 19:12+ Christ wears many diadēmas, royal crowns.”—MacArthur,
Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Rev. 6:2.
26Walter Scott, Exposition of The Revelation (London,
England: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.), 155.
27Pink, The Antichrist, s.v. “The Genius and Character of
the Antichrist.”
28Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 62.
29Monty S. Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the
Revelation to John (Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries, 1987), Rev. 6:3.
30Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller,
Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,
2000), 340.
31Frederick William Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press, 2000), 796.
32MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament
Commentary, Rev. 6:4.
33Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 499.
34Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1971), 127.
35Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 752.
36Ibid., 179.
37Fausset, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, Rev. 6:6.
38Colin J. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia
in Their Local Setting (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1989), 175.
39Thomas, Revelation 1-7, 272.
40Ibid., Rev. 6:6.
41Pink, The Antichrist, s.v. “Antichrist in the Apocalypse.”
42Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Rev. 6:6.
43Barnhouse, Revelation, 128.
44“For while there is a famine of food, there will be an
abundance of medicine, for the oil and wine are not hurt. These items were used
for medicinal purposes.”—Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 219.
45Gordon Franz, “Was ‘Babylon’ Destroyed when Jerusalem Fell
in A.D. 70?,” in Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice, eds., The End Times Controversy
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2003), 226-227.
46Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 155.
47Thomas, Revelation 1-7, Rev. 6:6.
48Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 882.
49M. R. Vincent, Vincent’s Word Studies (Escondido, CA:
Ephesians Four Group, 2002), Rev. 6:8.
50Thomas, Revelation 1-7, Rev. 6:8.
51Ibid.
52See the world population clock:
[http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/popclockw].
53Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 737.
54“Metonymy of the Effect, the effect (death) put for the
cause producing it (pestilence).”—Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture
Knowledge, Rev. 6:8.
55MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament
Commentary, Rev. 6:8.
56“The context of Ezekiel 5:17 (Eze. 5:12-16) indicates that
the famine, beasts, pestilence, and sword of that passage are expressions of
God’s wrath.”—Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 115.
57Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 219.
58Albrecht Durer (1471 - 1528). Image courtesy of the
Connecticut College Wetmore Print Collection.
59Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation,
140.
60Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Rev. 6:11.
61Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 366.
62Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation, Rev. 6:9.
63Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the Revelation
to John, Rev. 6:9.
64“The description given in Revelation seems to fit the
altar of incense better than the great altar of sacrifice which stood near the
door of the tabernacle. The altar in Revelation is connected with the prayers
of the martyrs (Rev. 6:9+), its fire is used to light the incense of the golden
censer (Rev. 8:3+, 5+), and its location is ‘before God,’ which would accord
much more closely with the place of the altar of incense that stood on the
border between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, the inner shrine of the
tabernacle.”—Merrill C. Tenney, Interpreting Revelation (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1957), 171.
65“This Greek word occurs 105 times in the New Testament,
and its uses and occurrences may be classified as follows: (1) Metonymy of the
Cause, ‘soul’ put for ‘life,’ which is the effect of it. The natural life of
the body, Mat. 2:20; 6:25, 25; 10:39, 39; 16:25, 25; 20:28. Mark 3:4; 8:35;
10:45. Luke 6:9; 9:56; 12:22, 23; 14:26; 17:33a; John 10:11, 15, 17; 12:25a,
25b; 13:37, 38; 15:13; Acts 15:26; 20:10, 24; 27:10, 22; Rom. 11:3; 16:4; Php.
2:30; 1Jn. 3:16, 16; Rev. 8:9+; 12:11+. Rendered ‘soul,’ Mat. 16:26, 26; Mark
8:36, 37; Luke 12:20; 1Th. 2:8. (2) The immaterial, invisible part of man: Mat.
10:28; Acts 2:27, 31; 1Th. 5:23; Heb. 4:12. (3) The disembodied man (2Cor. 5:3,
4; 12:2): Rev. 6:9+; 20:4+. (4) The seat of personality: Luke 9:24, 24; Heb.
6:19; 10:39. (5) Metonymy of Cause. The seat of perception, feeling, desire:
Mat. 11:29; Luke 1:46; 2:35; Acts 14:2 (mind), 22; 15:24. (6) Metonymy of
Cause. The seat of will and purpose: Mat. 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33; Luke 10:27;
Acts 4:32; Eph. 6:6; Php. 1:27; Col. 3:23; Heb. 12:3. (7) The seat of appetite:
Rev. 18:14+. (8) Metonymy of Cause, soul put for person. Synecdoche of the
Part, an integral part of man (individually) is put for the whole person. Used
of persons or individuals: Acts 2:41, 43; 3:23; 7:14; 27:37; Rom. 2:9; 13:1;
Jas. 5:20; 1Pe. 3:20; 2Pe. 2:14; Rev. 18:13+. (9) Synecdoche of the Part. The
expression ‘my soul,’ ‘his soul,’ etc., becomes by Synecdoche the idiom for me,
myself, himself, etc. Used to emphasize the personal pronoun (a) in the first person:
Mat. 12:18; 26:38; Mark 14:34; Luke 12:19, 19; John 10:24 (us); 12:27; 2Cor.
1:23; Heb. 10:38 (soul); (b) in the second person: 2Cor. 12:15; Heb. 13:17;
Jas. 1:21; 1Pe. 1:9, 22; 2:25; (c) in the third person: 1Pe. 4:19; 2Pe. 2:8.
(10) Synecdoche of the Part. ‘Soul’ (Gr. psyche) is also used of animals. An
animate creature, human or other: 1Cor. 15:45; Rev. 16:3+. (11) The ‘inward
man,’ seat of the new life: Luke 21:19; 1Pe. 2:11; 3Jn. 2. Compare the
classification of the corresponding Old Testament term nephesh at Gen. 2:7
(note).”—Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Mat. 2:20.
66Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation,
142.
67Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 110, 119.
68Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, A Review of the Pre-Wrath Rapture
of the Church (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, n.d.), 43.
69John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago,
IL: Moody Press, 1966), Rev. 6:9.
70Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 176.
71Friberg, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament,
107.
72“ ‘Them that dwell on the earth’ is a semi-technical
designation for mankind in its hostility to God.”—Mounce, The Book of
Revelation, 159.
73Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Rev. 6:11.
74Barnhouse, Revelation, 132.
75Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation, Rev. 6:11.
76Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation,
126.
77“As to who is persecuting these believers, this will be
answered by Revelation 17+: namely, Ecclesiastical Babylon.”—Fruchtenbaum, The
Footsteps of Messiah, 220.
78Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Rev. 6:12.
79Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 119.
80Ibid., 60.
81McLean believes this earthquake to be correlated with the
timing of the Abomination of Desolation: “If the time sequence of A (the
Abomination of Desolation at the midpoint of the Seventieth Week of Daniel and
the tribulation of the synoptics), equals B (at this time the people flee to
the mountains and women are warned about impending dangers); and the time frame
of B equals C (the people cry out for the mountains to fall on them); and the
reference C equals D (the sixth seal of Revelation when the wrath of God and
the Lamb initiate the great day of their wrath, and people cry for the
mountains to fall on them), then A (the Abomination of Desolation at the
midpoint of Daniel’s Seventieth Week), equals or occurs at the [same] time as D
(the time of the sixth seal of the Apocalypse).”—John A. McLean, “Structure of
the Book of Revelation,” in Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial
Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996), 375-376.
82In this passage Zerubbabel typifies the Messiah.
83Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 746.
84MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament
Commentary, Rev. 6:12.
85Fruchtenbaum recognizes “five cosmic disturbances: one
before the seven years, three during, and one after.”—Fruchtenbaum, A Review of
the Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, 25.
86Ibid.
87Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 66-69.
88Passages describing astronomical signs: Isa. 5:30; 13:10;
24:23; 30:26; 50:3; Jer. 4:23-28; Eze. 32:7; Joel 2:10; 2:31; 3:15; Amos 8:9;
Mat. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; 23:45; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12+; 8:12+; 9:2+.
89Concerning the worship of heavenly bodies: Gen. 11:4; Deu.
4:19; 17:3; 2K. 17:16; 23:5, 11; 2Chr. 33:3; Job 31:26-28; Isa. 47:13; Jer.
8:2; 10:2; 19:13; Acts 7:42; Rom. 1:25; Rev. 8:12+.
90Some believe these stars could refer to fallen angels.
“The sixth seal marks the end of the first half of the tribulation, so these
stars could be the expulsion of Satan’s host from Heaven (Rev. 12:7-12+ with
12:3-4+).”—Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the Revelation to John,
Rev. 6:13.
91Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation,
154.
92Henry Morris, The Revelation Record (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale
House Publishers, 1983), Rev. 6:13.
93Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the Revelation
to John, Rev. 6:13.
94As we forewarned the reader in our discussion concerning
The Genre of the book of Revelation, many interpreters part ways here from the
Golden Rule of Interpretation in favor of subjective “apocalypticism.” “The
details of this dramatic description of a universe in turmoil are drawn from
the common stock of current apocalypticism. They are not to be taken with
complete literalness. Those who first read John’s description would not have
bothered to debate whether or not the details were to be taken literally. They
were part of a well-established tradition that went back through contemporary
apocalyptic literature to the early prophetic portrayals of the day of the
Lord.”—Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 161. We might ask who decides what
“complete literalness” means? Which parts are literal and which parts are not?
Are the men literal? But not the stars? “The suggestion of combining symbolic
and literal (Mounce) is fraught with hermeneutical difficulty.”—Thomas,
Revelation 1-7, Rev. 6:12. Also: how would God convey these events if they were
literal? The Anti-supernatural Bias of these interpreters makes it nearly
impossible for God to tell us of catastrophic events because they always get
recast as “apocalyptic” and therefore not literal.
95Concerning worship of heavenly bodies: Gen. 11:4; Deu.
4:19; 17:3; 2K. 17:16; 23:5, 11; 2Chr. 33:3; Job 31:26-28; Isa. 47:13; Jer.
8:2; 10:2; 19:13; Acts 7:42; Rom 1:25.
96However: “The difficulties of the symbolic interpretation
are insuperable, while no difficulties whatever attend the literal
interpretation.”—Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation, 274.
97Thomas, Revelation 1-7, Rev. 6:14.
98Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the Revelation
to John, Rev. 6:14.
99That is, until the regeneration of the Millennial Kingdom
(Mat. 19:28) and later, the eternal state (Rev. 21:1+).
100Even today, charts of Alaskan waters made prior to the
1964 earthquake carry a disclaimer indicating that actual depths may vary by
dozens of feet from that shown on the chart.
101Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 881.
102Concerning the omniscience of God: 2S. 7:19; Job 24:1;
28:24; 31:4; Ps. 69:5; 139:2-4; 147:5; Isa. 40:28; 41:21-26; 42:9; 43:9; 44:7;
45:21; 46:10; 48:3-5; Jer. 12:3; Dan. 2:10, 27; Mat. 6:8; Luke 7:39; 12:6; Acts
15:28; Rom. 11:33; Rev. 2:23+.
103Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 221.
104MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament
Commentary, Rev. 6:17.
105Renald E. Showers, “The Day of the Lord,” in Elwood
McQuaid, ed., Israel My Glory (Westville, NJ: Friends of Israel Gospel
Ministry, March/April 2003), 18-19.
106Thomas, Revelation 1-7, Rev. 6:17.
107Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, 147.
108We will use the term “prophetic” for “proleptic” since
most readers are more familiar with that term.
109“The aorist tense describes an undefined action that
normally occurs in the past.”—William D. Mounce, Greek for the Rest of Us
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), 157, 160.
110Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, 164-167.
111Tommie P. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of
the Greek New Testament (Toronto, Ontario: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 198.
112Thomas, Revelation 1-7, 460.
113Rosenthal misrepresents Isaiah: “The prophet Isaiah said
men would flee to the caves of the mountains immediately before the Day of the
Lord.”—Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, 175. This makes little
sense. Why would they flee before that day when it is the events which attend
the day which they recognize as being God’s wrath which cause their flight?
114MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament
Commentary, Rev. 6:17.
115Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, 147.
116Showers, Maranatha, Our Lord Come, 120.
117Morris, The Revelation Record, Rev. 6:17.
118Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Rev. 6:17.
119Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of
Revelation, 159.
Copyright © 2004-2020 by Tony Garland
(Content generated on Thu Apr 30 16:37:46 2020)
contact@SpiritAndTruth.org
ADDENDUM COMMENTS
BRUCE HURT
Revelation 6:2 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.
a white
horse: Rev 19:11,14 Zec 1:8 6:3-8
and he who
sat Ps 45:3-5 76:7
and a
crown: Rev 14:14 19:12 Zec 6:11-13 Mt 28:18
and he
went out conquering (nikao): Rev 11:7 = nikao, Rev 11:15,18 15:2 17:14 Ps 98:1
110:2 Isa 25:8 Ro 15:18,19 1Co 15:25,55-57 2Co 10:3-5
NOT THE CHRIST BUT
THE ANTI-CHRIST
I looked, and behold, a white horse Note that many consider
this to be the Christ. E.g., here is the Treasury of Scripture note "This
seems to be a representation of the person and dignity of Christ, and the mild
and beneficent triumphs of his Gospel over all the powers of paganism."
Remember that context is king in interpretation and to avoid astutely observing
the context often (usually) leads to an erroneous interpretation. Here, the
context is the Lamb breaking the first seal (Rev 6:1). Think about this -- is
He going to break the seal and then quickly hop on a horse? I don't think so.
Yes, it is a white horse as in His second coming in Rev 19:11. Who is the liar
and deceiver who seeks to mimic the actions of Christ? Of course, that is the
ruse of the Antichrist and I think this rider is the in fact the Antichrist and
that this marks the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week, the last 7 years of this
present evil age.
Even Dr Henry Morris who has a good, generally literal
interpretation of the Revelation (The Revelation Record), writes in his study
notes (Defender's Study Bible) that "Many futurist commentators interpret
the rider on the white horse to be the Antichrist (ED: YOURS TRULY IS AMONG
THIS GROUP), who they say is seeking to imitate Christ as he appears as the
conquering Rider on the white horse in Revelation 19:11. This interpretation
seems inappropriate. The coming Antichrist is not a "false Christ,"
pretending to be Christ (ED: IS THAT REALLY TRUE? REMEMBER THE PREFIX
"ANTI-" CAN MEAN OPPOSED TO BUT IT ALSO CONVEYS THE SENSE OF INSTEAD
OF. IN SUM THE ANTICHRIST IS AN ADVERSARY AND A COUNTERFEITER OF CHRIST), but
the ultimate Antichrist, openly opposing Christ and seeking to destroy all
Christian believers and everything for which Christ stands (ED: THAT IS NOT
TRUE AT HIS INITIAL ARRIVAL ON THE WORLD SCENE FOR HE BROKERS WHAT MEN HAVE
BEEN SEEKING FOR DECADES, A MIDDLE EAST PEACE ACCORD. Da 9:27). The Antichrist,
or Beast, will receive his power and authority from Satan (Revelation 11:7;
13:7) (ED: YES THAT IS TRUE, BUT ULTIMATELY HE RECEIVES HIS POWER BECAUSE GOD
SOVEREIGN WILLS/ALLOWS/GIVES IT! THIS IS RELATED TO GOD'S SO-CALLED PERMISSIVE
WILL. What is God's permissive will?) The proper interpretation is to view
Christ as the rider; remember that each judgment of the seven seals is sent
forth by Christ, not Satan. Furthermore, it is eminently fitting that the
conquering Christ should be seen as riding forth both at the beginning of His
cleansing judgments on the earth, and then again at their climactic completion
(Revelation 6:2; 19:11) (ED: THIS LOGIC DOES NOT REALLY MAKE SENSE). Throughout
the events of Revelation 6 through 19, as the successive seal judgments are
sent forth, He is gradually "conquering" and is destined finally
"to conquer" completely. (ED: YES, BUT WE SHOULD EMPHASIZE THAT HE
INITIALLY CONQUERS WITHOUT AN ARROW IN HIS BOW! THIS IS PART OF HIS INCREDIBLE
POWER OF DECEPTION).
Charles Ryrie - Evidently a reference to Antichrist. See 1
John 2:18. His method of conquest at first does not seem to include open
warfare, since peace is not removed from the earth until the second seal is
opened (v. 3). This corresponds to the description of delusion in 1Th 5:3.
(Ryrie Study Bible)
Danny Akin - John sees a white horse whose rider has a bow
and is wearing a crown (Gk stephanos). He goes out “as a victor to conquer.”
Exactly who this rider is has generated much discussion and disagreement.
Opinions include (1) Jesus Christ (see Rev 19:11–16), (2) the advance of the
gospel, (3) Apollo (representing false religion), (4) the antichrist, (5) the
spirit of conquest, (6) government persecuting Christians, and (7) Satan’s
servants in general. The rider cannot be Jesus, even though this view goes back
at least to the time of the church father Irenaeus (late second century). The
riders of Rev 6:1–2 and 19:11–21 have little in common other than being on a
white horse. Further, The Lamb opens the seals, and no angel would command
Christ to do anything! The better view is that this is the spirit of deception
and conquest that will be embodied in the counterfeit Christ, the antichrist
(2Th 2:3–4), the beast of Rev 13:1–10. This deceptive, conquering rider keeps
company with war, famine, and death—the next three riders. This rider fulfills
the warning of Jesus in Matthew 24:4–5 where He tells us to be on guard against
deception and false christs.
Paige Patterson - Instead, the conqueror of the first seal
should be identified with the long-awaited Antichrist, the ruler who would come
and destroy the city and the sanctuary mentioned in Dan 9:26. This
interpretation has the advantage of explaining the results of the opening of
the first seal as seen in the conflagration that breaks out with the opening of
the second seal, the famine that results in the opening of the third seal, and
the widespread desolation and death as a consequence of all that is revealed in
the fourth seal. (New American Commentary - Revelation)
Lehman Strauss - This rider on the white horse sheds no
blood. His is a bloodless conquest. He corresponds to the false Christ of
Matthew 24:5. His method is that of deception. We shall see as we pursue our
study that Matthew 24 is a commentary on Revelation 6. This rider comes with a
bow but without an arrow, indicating that he offers a promise of peace. I
believe that at this very moment the world would welcome a superman who could
unite the United Nations. Jesus said, "I am come in My Father's name, and ye
receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will
receive" (John 5:43). The world that has rejected God's Christ is ready to
receive the devil's Christ. After the Church has been translated, this
political leader and military strategist will put in his appearance and deceive
the entire world. Appearing as a great ruler of men, he will be but a servant
of God to carry out the divine purpose in the earth. He will be the last man to
attempt to bring peace, but his efforts will only prove that there can be no
peace without the presence of the Prince of Peace.
Mark Hitchcock - . Revelation 6:2 describes the rider on the
white horse as having a bow and wearing a crown. He wears a victor’s crown and
has a bow—but no arrows! This indicates he will win a bloodless victory at the
beginning of his career. The bow represents the threat of war, but apparently
this war will never materialize because the Antichrist is able to gain victory
through diplomacy and peaceful negotiations, or possibly through threats of
destruction. (101 Answers to Questions about the Book of Revelation)
It is interesting that Charles Swindoll does not
specifically call the rider the Antichrist - The rider on the white horse (Rev
6:1–2) most likely represents bloodless conquest—false peace and security.
Notice that he carried a bow without arrows. The type of crown on his head is
the stephanos [4735]—not a crown of regal authority but a victor’s crown.[70]
The Tribulation period will begin with a deceptive peace accompanied by a
counterfeit spirituality and false religion. Paul describes this same general condition
in 1 Thessalonians 5:3: “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then
destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with
child, and they will not escape.” The coming of false religion is seen also in
Christ’s own description of the end times in Matthew 24:4–5.
POSB - The strongest arguments seem to point toward the
white rider being the antichrist. How is the antichrist going to conquer the
world? Scripture tells us that it is going to be through deception. Because of
the sins and evil of people, because people have chosen to go the way of sin
and evil, the antichrist is going to be able to deceive them.
Warren Wiersbe: We would expect the Antichrist to resemble
the Christ, because the Antichrist is Satan’s great imitation! Even the Jews
(who ought to know the Scriptures) will be deceived by him (John 5:43; 2 Thess.
2:1–12). This great deceiver will come as a peaceful leader, holding a bow but
no arrows! (Our Lord’s weapon is a sword; Rev. 19:15.) The Antichrist will
solve the world’s problems and be received as the Great Liberator.
John Walvoord - A more plausible explanation is that the
rider of the white horse is none other than the “prince that shall come” of
Daniel 9:26, who is to head up the revived Roman Empire and ultimately become
the world ruler. Ainslie believes the rider of the white horse will appear at
the beginning of the seventieth week of Daniel and that the rider himself “is
the Roman prince of an empire that must rise again to fulfill the great
prophecies of the book of Daniel.”10 He is Satan’s masterpiece and the counterfeit
of all that Christ is or claims to be. He is therefore cast in the role of a
conqueror, which seems to be the significance of the white horse.....While the
dispute as to the identity of the rider cannot be finally settled, especially
in the brief compass of this discussion, the conclusion identifying him as the
world ruler of the tribulation, the same individual described as the beast out
of the sea in Revelation 13, is preferred.
Hampton Keathley -
This rider is the Antichrist, the false Christ who comes as a
peacemaker. Later he will show his true colors and will then be called the
beast. This is undoubtedly the prince who is to come and who will make a peace
treaty with Israel according to Daniel 9:26–27. This fits with the picture Paul
gives us in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. The world will be trusting in the peace and
safety brought about by the tactics of the white horse rider, but it will be
oblivious this very peace has inaugurated the Day of the Lord which will
quickly usher in destruction.
1 Thessalonians
5:2-3. for you know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief
in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will
come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not
escape (NIV).
(1) White is a
symbol of peace and he comes as a peacemaker. According to Daniel 9:26–27, one
of his first feats will be to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli dispute by a
peace treaty with Israel. This evidently begins Daniel’s 70th week, the
unprecedented time of Jacob’s distress (Jer. 30:7).
(2) His weapon is a
bow, yet no arrows are mentioned. The bow is a symbol of distant victory and
since no arrows are mentioned it seems to indicate that he gains his victory by
bloodless tactics.
(3) That all this is
true is indicated further by the fact that peace isn’t taken from the earth
until the second seal.
(4) He has a hidden
agenda. His purpose is not world peace, but rather world domination. He goes
out conquering and to conquer. He is the false Christ.
So, Revelation 6:2
says “he went out conquering and to conquer,” but the picture given here of a
bow (perhaps a symbol of distant victory), but with no arrows mentioned,
suggests that he conquers by cold war tactics through a one world order
mentality that has been growing for years and continues to do so. Today the
world is ripe for the rise of such a man with his world government as an answer
to international problems. Prominent world leaders and movements have posed the
idea that what we need is a world order with a charismatic leader who can mold
the world into harmony and peace.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum - This figure who enters the Tribulation
conquering, and to conquer is the Antichrist. (Footsteps of Messiah)
Alan Johnson - . The evidence, however, seems to favor
slightly....identifying the white horse with the Antichrist and his forces,
which seek to conquer the followers of Christ. John sensed that these
persecutions were already present in his day and that they would culminate in a
final, more severe form (1 Jn 2:18; Rev 13:7). (Explorer's Bible Commentary)
F. C. Jennings puts the matter concisely, “The whole context
and character of these seals absolutely forbid one thinking of this rider as
the Lord Jesus, as so many affirm. His reign will not bring war and strife in
its train”.
I was surprised by John MacArthur's statement "Others
identify the rider as Antichrist. But since the other three riders represent
not individual persons but impersonal forces (war, famine, and death), it is
best to view the first one as a force as well."
It is surprising that Robert Mounce in his comment on Rev
6:2 does not even mention the possibility of the Antichrist! (The Book of
Revelation - one of my least favorite commentaries although unfortunately it is
widely quoted)
I was also surprised to read William Newell's interpretation
- This first seal then indicates the Lord and the hosts of heaven turned
against the earth: a most solemn thought! It is a public change from the day of
grace.
Grant Osborne does not favor the Antichrist - Some scholars
(Alford, Hendriksen, Hodges, Bachmann) have argued that the rider on the white
horse is Christ, since he is described at his parousia as coming on a white
horse (19:11) to destroy his enemies (19:15–16). The imagery of “conquering”
then describes the triumph of the gospel (Matt. 24:14), presented as a separate
view by some (Sweet 1979: 139 takes it of the conquest of the world by the
gospel). Several (Considine 1944: 419–20; Bachmann 1986: 240–47; Bachmann 1998:
260–65; Herzer 1999: 231–38) argue that the first rider is marked off from the
other three as a positive (“white” as the color of righteousness) figure “going
forth” with a crown (sovereignty) and a bow (the gospel) to conquer (with all
the “conqueror” imagery in the book).....Still others (e.g., Rissi 1964:
414–17; Johnson; Thomas; Wong 1996: 221–25; Beale; MacLeod 1999a: 210) believe
the rider is a satanic figure, possibly the Antichrist.....It is better to see
this image as more general, with the riders relating to the human lust for war
and its consequences (so Swete, Morris, Roloff, Beasley-Murray, Metzger,
Talbert, Giesen, Mounce, Aune). In these four interconnected seals, God’s
judgment is to allow human depravity to run its course.8 (Revelation - BECNT)
and a crown was given to him - This is an example of the
divine passive for it describes the permission that God gives this wicked
person. See discussion of God's permissive will. See related topic The
Providence of God.
________________________________________
QUESTION - Who are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
Watch the video.
ANSWER - The Four Horsemen correspond with the first four
seals opened by the Lamb as He opens the scroll of judgment in heaven (see
Revelation 5). When the Lamb opens the first seal, one of the living creatures
before the heavenly throne says to John, in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
(Revelation 6:1). John then records what he sees: “I looked, and there before
me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he
rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest” (Revelation 6:2).
The first Horseman likely refers to the Antichrist. He is
the false imitator of the true Christ, who is also associated with a white
horse (Revelation 19:11–16). At the beginning of the tribulation, the
Antichrist will be given authority (“a crown”), and he will wage war (“a bow”),
conquering all who oppose him. This description agrees with Daniel’s vision of
the “little horn” that rises to power and is bent on conquest: “This horn was
waging war against the holy people and defeating them” (Daniel 7:21; cf.
Revelation 13:7). (For full discussion see GotQuestions.org)
Related Resources:
What is
the Antichrist? | GotQuestions.org
Who is the
antichrist? | GotQuestions.org
Who is the
beast of Revelation? | GotQuestions.org
Who is the
man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12
What is
the little horn in the book of Daniel? | GotQuestions.org
999999999999999 NASB 999999999999999999999
Revelation 6:1-17 (NASB) 66667777
1 Then 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."
66667777
2 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.
3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
4 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 would slay
one another; and a great sword was given to him.
5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature
saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on
it had a pair of scales in his hand.
6 And I heard something like 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 damage the oil and the
wine."
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come."
8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had
the name Death; and Hades was following with him. 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.
9 When the Lamb 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;
10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O
Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our
blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 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, would be completed also.
12 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;
13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up,
and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 Then 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;
16 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;
17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
99999999999999999 EXPOSITOR’S REV 6 99999999999999999999999999999
1 The opening of the seals continues the vision begun in chapters 4 and
5. Now the scene shifts to events on earth. Before the exposition of
each of the seals, it will be helpful to consider their overall
meaning. As we have already seen (cf. comments on 5:1), the scroll
itself involves the rest of Revelation and has to do with the
consummation of the mystery of all things, the goal or end of history
for both the overcomers and the beast worshipers. But what relationship
do the seals have to this mystery? Are the events of the seals
representative and simultaneous world happenings that occur throughout
the church age (Minear)? Do they occur sequentially? Are they part of
the final drama (Bruce) or merely preparatory to it (Ladd)? One thing
is certain: the Lamb has the scroll and he himself opens the seals
(6:1, 3, 5, et al.).
With the opening of the fifth seal, the martyrs cry out, "How long,...
until you judge the inhabitants of the earth?" and are told to wait "a
little longer" (vv. 10-11). And when the sixth seal is opened, the
judgment appears to be imminent (v. 17), and this seems to indicate
that there is a time progression in the seals. The writer of this
commentary tentatively suggests that the seals represent events
preparatory to the final consummation. Whether these events come
immediately before the end or whether they represent general conditions
that will prevail throughout the period preceding the end is a more
difficult question.
The seals closely parallel the signs of the approaching end times
spoken of in Jesus' Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:1-35; Mark 13:1-37; Luke
21:5-33). In these passages the events of the last days fall into three
periods: (1) the period of false Christs, wars, famines, pestilences,
earthquakes, and death, called "the beginning of birth pains" (Matt
24:8); (2) the period of the Great Tribulation (Matt 24:21; NIV, "great
distress") and, (3) finally, the period "immediately after the distress
of those days," when the sun, moon, and stars will be affected and
Christ will return (Matt 24:29-30). This parallel to major parts of
Revelation is too striking to be ignored. Thus the seals would
correspond to the "beginning of birth pains" found in the Olivet
Discourse. The events are similar to those occurring under the trumpets
(8:2-11:19) and bowls (15:1-16:21) but they should not be confused with
those later and more severe judgments. In Jewish apocalyptic literature
(cf. 2 Baruch 25-30), the Great Tribulation precedes the age to come
and is divided into twelve parts of various trials lasting possibly a
week of seven weeks, or forty-nine years (C. K. Barrett, The New
Testament Background: Selected Documents [New York: Harper and Row,
1961], pp. 245-48). Moreover, in the eschatological reckoning of time
(cf. comments on 1:1), the events immediately preceding the end can
stretch out over the whole age of the church, from John's time until
now, and can still be viewed as "next" (4:1) in the sense that the
"last days" began in the first century and are still continuing (cf. 1
John 2:18).
The first four seals are distinct from the last two in that they
describe four horses of different colors with four riders who are given
different powers over the earth. Background for the imagery of these
four seals reflect Zechariah 1:8ff. and 6:1-8. In Zechariah's visions
the horsemen and chariots are divine instruments of judgment on the
enemies of God's people, while the colors represent geographical points
of the compass. This may also be the best interpretation of the horses
and their riders in Revelation 6, where each is sent by Christ through
the instrumentality of the living creatures. The emphatic call "Come!"
(vv. 1, 3, 5, 7) should not be viewed as addressed either to John (some
ancient Gr. MSS and many commentators, cf. Notes, v. 1) or to Christ
(Alford, Swete) but, rather, to the horsemen in each case. An analogy
may be a first-century amphitheater or circus with various charioteers
being summoned forth into the arena of the world by the call "Come!" or
"Go forth!"
2 The identification of the first rider seated on a white horse has
given interpreters great difficulty. Essentially, the difficulty is
whether the rider on the white horse represents Christ and the victory
of the gospel (Alford, Ladd) or whether he represents the Antichrist
and the forces of evil (Beckwith, Bruce, Caird, Mounce, Swete,
Walvoord). In favor of the first identification is the striking
similarity of this rider to the portrayal of Christ in 19:11-16, the
symbolism of white throughout Revelation always being associated with
righteousness and Christ (e.g., 1:14; 2:17; 3:4-5, 18; 4:4; 7:9, 13-14;
20:11), and the references in the Olivet Discourse to the preaching of
the gospel throughout the world before the end.
Support for the identification of the white horse with the Antichrist
and his forces is the parallelism with the other three horses, which
are instruments of judgment. The references in 19:11-16 to the rider on
the white horse as "Faithful and True" and of whom it is said that
"with justice he judges and makes war" may stand in contrast to the
rider in 6:2 who is not faithful or true and who wages war for unjust
conquest. As for the Lamb, he opens the seals and would not be one of
the riders. Moreover, it would be inappropriate to have an angelic
being call forth Christ or his servants. Again, the "bow" would most
naturally be connected with the enemy of God's people (Ezek 39:3; cf.
Rev 20:7-8). Finally, the parallelism to the Olivet Discourse shows
that the first events mentioned are the rise of "false Christs and
false prophets" (Matt 24:24).
It must be admitted that the problem of the identity of the rider on
the white horse may be solved either way, depending on the
presuppositions one brings to the passage. The evidence, however, seems
to favor slightly the second solution, which identifies the white horse
with the Antichrist and his forces that seek to conquer the followers
of Christ. John sensed that these persecutions were already present in
his day and that they would culminate in a final, more severe form (1
John 2:18; Rev 13:7).
Each of the first four seals, then, represents conflict directed at
Christians to test them and to sift out false disciples (6:10). This
interpretation need not necessarily eliminate the fact that the seals
may also refer to judgments on mankind in general. Yet since the fifth
seal stresses the cry of the martyred Christians, probably the thought
of Christian persecution belongs also in the first four seals (Minear,
I Saw a New Earth, pp. 78, 266-69). Each of them unleashes events that
separate false belief from true. The destruction of Jerusalem is a case
in point (Luke 21:20ff.). The white horse is released to conquer. As he
goes forth, judgment falls on the unbelief of Israel (Luke 21:22-23),
while at the same time there is a testing of believers to separate the
chaff from the wheat (cf. Luke 21:12-19).
Although the bow could be a symbol of either the Parthian or Cretan
invaders bent on the conquest of Rome, in this context it suggests
forces opposed to Christians (cf. Matt 24:5). A "crown" refers to
victorious conquest in 19:12, where Christ wears "many crowns." "He was
given" is the formula for the sovereign permission to carry out acts
that, from a human viewpoint, seem contrary to God's character but
nevertheless accomplish his will (cf. 13:5, 7, 15). Thus the rider on
the white horse may also point to the attacks of the false Jews (2:9;
3:9) and to the affront to Christians from pagan religionists and the
persecutions from Rome as well as all future, limited victories over
the church by Satan (cf. 2:13; 12:17).
While v. 2 would be sobering for first-century believers, at the same
time it would encourage them, provided they understood that the Lamb
had, for his own beneficent ends, permitted their testing and
suffering. So they could trust that in the midst of seeming defeat from
their enemies, he would ultimately be the victor (17:14).
3-4 The second horseman is war and bloodshed. He rides on a "fiery red
steed," whose color symbolizes slaughter (2 Kings 3:22-23). Therefore,
he is given the "large sword" because the number of those he kills is
so great (cf. 13:10, 14). John might have thought of Nero's slaughter
of Christians, the martyrdom of Antipas (2:13), or perhaps those slain
under Domitian's persecutions (cf. Matt 10:34; 24:9).
5-6 The third horseman is poverty and famine. He rides on a "black
horse" and symbolizes the effects of war and bloodshed: sorrow,
mourning, and desolation (Isa 50:3; Jer 4:28; Lam 5:10 KJV). In the
rider's hand there is a "pair of scales." A voice is heard interpreting
its significance in economic terms: "a quart of wheat... and three
quarts of barley for a day's wage" (lit., "for a denarius," a Gr.
coin). This amount suggests food prices about twelve times higher than
normal (Beckwith, p. 520) and implies inflation and famine conditions
(Matt 24:7). A quart of wheat would supply an average person one day's
sustenance. Barley was used by the poor to mix with the wheat. The
expression "Do not damage the oil and wine" is less clear. Some view
oil and wine as luxuries not necessary for bare survival, and the rich
would have them while the poor were starving (cf. Prov 21:17). Others
take oil and wine as showing the extent of the famine, since a drought
affecting the grain may not be severe enough to hurt the vines and
olive trees (ibid., p. 521). Moreover, oil and wine are staple foods in
the East, both in dearth and in prosperity (e.g., Deut 7:13; Hos 2:8,
22). So in this view the third seal brings poverty and partial, though
not severe, famine. As Mounce notes, "This interpretation is in harmony
with the increasing intensity of the three cycles of judgment. The
fourth seal affects `the fourth part of the earth' (6:8), the trumpets
destroy a third (8:7, 8, 10, 12), and the destruction by the bowls is
complete and final (16:1ff.)" (Revelation, p. 155).
7-8 The fourth seal reveals a rider on a "pale horse." "Pale" (chloros)
denotes a yellowish green, the light green of a plant, or the paleness
of a sick person in contrast to a healthy appearance (cf. BAG, p. 890).
This cadaverous color blends well with the name of the rider—"Death"
(thanatos). This probably refers to the death brought by pestilence, or
plague, which often follows famine (cf. Jer 14:12; Ezek 5:17; 14:21;
Luke 21:11). "Hades was following close behind him [Death]." But how?
On foot? On the back of the same horse? On a separate horse? Scripture
does not say. (On "Hades," cf. comments on 1:18.) There seems to be a
growth of intensity in the judgments as they are carried out by various
agencies—the sword (human violence), famine, plague, and now the wild
beasts of the earth.
9-11 The fifth seal changes the metaphor of horsemen and discloses a
scene of martyred saints under the altar crying out for justice upon
those who killed them. They are told to wait a little longer till their
fellow servants are also killed. Who are these martyrs? They are
referred to again in 18:24 as "all who have been killed on the earth"
and in 20:4 as "those who had been beheaded." In 13:15 they are
referred to as those who refused to worship the image of the beast and
were "killed." Others also take the group seen in 7:9ff. as martyred
saints in heaven. At any rate, the question arises as to why the
martyrs alone receive so much attention rather than all suffering or
persecuted Christians. One solution understands John to be referring to
all those who so faithfully follow Christ as to form a group that may
be characterized as the slain of the Lord. They may or may not actually
suffer physical death for Christ, but they have (like John) so
identified themselves with the slain Lamb that they have in effect
already offered up their lives ("because of the word of God and the
testimony they had maintained" [cf. 1:2, 9]); and they are seen as a
group (cf. Rom 8:36).
John says that he saw the "souls" (psychas) of those slain (v. 9). This
is generally understood to mean the disembodied souls of these saints.
However, the Greek word psyche has various meanings and probably stands
here for the actual "lives" or "persons" who were killed rather than
for their "souls." They are seen by John as persons who are very much
alive though they have been killed by the beast. "Under the altar" sets
the scene as occurring in the temple of heaven. Depending on which
altar is meant, one of two different ideas is connoted. In 8:3, 5 and
9:13 the altar is the golden altar of incense that stood in the
tabernacle either in or before the Most Holy Place (Exod 30:1ff.; Heb
9:4). Likewise, the other references in Revelation to "altar" also can
be understood as referring to this altar of incense (11:1; 14:18;
16:7). In accord with this sense, the prayers of the saints would be
for God's vindication of the martyrs of Christ (cf. Luke 18:7-8). On
the other hand, some understand this as the brazen altar of sacrifice
and see in the imagery the blood of the martyrs at the base or "under
the altar" (Ladd, Commentary on Revelation, in loc.). But if the
symbolism was sacrificial, it would be more natural to read "on" the
altar, not "under" it.
The martyred address God as "Sovereign Lord" (despotes) (v. 10). This
term implies "ownership (TDNT, 2:44) and is used elsewhere in the NT to
denote slave masters (1Tim 6:1; 1 Peter 2:18), God (Luke 2:29; Acts
4:24), or Jesus Christ (2 Peter 2:1; Jude 4). (On the phrase "holy and
true," cf. comments on 3:7.) The martyrs cry for God's vengeance on the
evildoers. The word "avenge" (ekdikeo) relates everywhere in the OT
(LXX) and in the NT to the idea of punishment or retribution (TDNT,
2:442ff.). These saints are following the teaching of Paul in Romans
12:19: "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's
wrath, for it is written: `It is mine to avenge, I will repay,' says
the Lord." Though believers are forbidden to take revenge, God will
vindicate his elect by punishing those who killed them (Luke 18:7f.; 2
Thess 1:8).
The martyrs were each given a "white robe" as an evidence of their
righteousness and victory before the Judge of all the earth, who will
speedily avenge their deaths. The wait of a "little longer" is in God's
estimate but a fleeting moment, though for us it may stretch out for
ages (cf 12:12; 20:3). The DSS refer to the final reward of the
righteous as "the garment of honour in everlasting light" (lQS 4.8).
The expression "until the number of their fellow servants... was
completed" presents a slight exegetical difficulty (cf. Notes). It is
usually taken to mean that the number of either the martyred or their
companions on earth who will be killed will be completed (so NIV).
However, another sense may be possible. The verb "completed" (pleroo)
may mean "until their fellow servants complete their course," or
"fulfill their Christian calling," which will involve also martyrdom.
In any event, what constitutes the essence of Christian discipleship in
John's eyes should not be overlooked. As Lilje says, "Every believer in
Christ ought to be prepared for martyrdom; for Christians... cannot
express their priestly communion with their Lord more perfectly than
when they accept the suffering and the glory of martyrdom" (p. 130).
12-14 The sixth seal is broken by the Lamb, and John witnesses certain
eschatological signs heralding the imminent, final day of the Lord so
often described in Scripture (e.g., Isa 2:10, 19, 21; 13:10; 34:4; Jer
4:29; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Zeph 1:14-18; Matt 24:29; Luke
21:11, 25-26). The signs are threefold: (1) the great earthquake and
its storm affecting the sun and moon, (2) the stars falling, and (3)
the terror on earth (vv. 15-17). It is difficult to know how literally
the whole description should be taken. Some of the events are described
from the standpoint of ancient cosmology—e. g., the falling of the
stars to earth like figs from a shaken tree, or the sky rolling up like
a scroll. The firmament suspended like a roof over the earth is shaken
by the great earthquake.
The scene, whether taken literally or figuratively, is one of
catastrophe and distress for the inhabitants of the earth. As later
biblical authors seized on the earlier imagery of the theophany on
Sinai to describe appearances of God to man (e.g., Hab 3:3ff.), so John
utilizes the archetypal imagery of the OT to describe this terrible
visitation of God's final judgment to the earth. In much the same
manner as we would describe a chaotic situation by saying "all hell
broke loose" (though not intending to be taken in a strictly literal
sense), so the biblical writers use the language of cosmic turmoil to
describe the condition of the world when God comes to judge the earth
(v. 17). "Earthquakes" are mentioned in Revelation 8:5; Rev 11:13, Rev
11:19; Rev 16:18 and sun, moon, and/or stellar disturbances in Rev
8:12; Rev 9:2; Rev 16:8. Of course, actual physical phenomena may also
accompany the final judgment.
15-17 These verses record the terror of all classes of people at these
events and at the wrath of God and the Lamb. "The kings of the earth,
the princes [dignitaries], the generals" describe the powerful; "the
rich, the mighty" describe the affluent and the heroes. Finally,
political distinctions of the widest kind—"every slave and every free
man"-are referred to. Since all kinds of people are included, we cannot
say that God's wrath is directed only at the powerful, at the rich, or
at false Christians. His judgment will fall on all who refuse to repent
and instead worship demons and idols and persecute Christ's followers
(9:20-21; 16:6, 9).
The plea of people for the rocks and mountains to fall on them (v. 16)
occurs in OT contexts of God's judgment (Isa 2:19, 21; Hos 10:8). It
expresses the desire to be buried under the falling mountains and hills
so as to escape the pains and terrors of the judgment (K D, Minor
Prophets, 1:131). Jesus said that in this way the inhabitants of
Jerusalem would cry out when God's judgment fell on the city, in A.D.
70 (Luke 23:30).
The "wrath" (orge, "anger") of the Lamb is not only a new metaphor but
a paradoxical one. Lambs are usually gentle. But this Lamb shows
"wrath" against those who have refused his grace (cf. John 5:27).
Henceforth in Revelation the wrath of God and of the Lamb is a
continuing theme and is described under the figures of the trumpets and
bowls (11:18; 14:7, 10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15). Moreover, God's
wrath is a present historical reality as well as an eschatological
judgment (cf. Rom 1:18ff.; 2:5). So great is the day of destruction
that "who can stand?" (cf. Joel 2:11; Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2).
Notes
________________________________________
1 Ἔρχου (erchou) can mean "go forth" rather than "come," thus clearly
showing that the horseman rather than John is being addressed. In 16:1,
however, John uses a different word, Ὑπάγετε (hypagete), for "go
forth." א understands erchou as addressed to John and adds καὶ ἴδε
(kai ide, "and see") here and also in vv. 3, 5, 7 (as does the TR).
come and see" could be understood as a rabbinic invitation to
enlightenment (cf. John 1:46) There is, however, stronger MS support
for the abbreviated readings that also agree with the sense given in
the exposition. When John himself is addressed, another word is used,
Δεῦρο (deuro, "come"; 17:1; 21:9).
On the problem of the identification of the white horse and its rider,
see Mathias Rissi, "The Rider on the White Horse," Int, 18 (1964),
407-18, who argues for antichristic forces; Zane Hodges, "The First
Horseman of the Apocalypse," BS, 119 (October 1962), 324-34, who argues
for the Christ identification following the early father Irenaeus.
11 Πληρωθῶσιν (plerothosin, "was completed"), an aorist passive
subjunctive, is supported by A C et al. and is followed by NIV. An
alternative reading, πληρώσωσιν (plerososin, "was complete"), the
plain aorist subjunctive, is supported א P et al. The passive would
mean that the "number" was complete, while the plain aorist subjunctive
reading favors either the sense that the fellow servants will be
complete (rare intransitive sense for the verb, cf. BAG, pp. 677-78,
pars. 5 and 6) or that they will complete their course.
999999999999999999999 END Expositor's REV 6 99999999999999999999999999999.
99999999999999 BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY REV 6 999999999999999999999
C. The opening of the six seals: the time of divine wrath (chap. 6)
1. THE FIRST SEAL (6:1-2)
Five important questions must be answered before the events of chapter
6 can be understood: Are the events which begin with the breaking of
the first seal past or future? Though many have tried to find
fulfillment in the past (see Introduction), there are solid reasons for
believing that the revelation concerns events yet future.
The vision in chapters 4-5 is described in 4:1 as "after this," that
is, after the revelation to the seven churches which is described in
1:19 as "what is now," in contrast to "what will take place later."
Since the scroll in 5:1 is "sealed," the clear implication is that the
seals are broken at a time after chapter 5. All attempts to find
fulfillment of the seals in history have failed to yield any uniform
interpretation with no two commentators agreeing. Actually there is no
sequence in history that clearly corresponds to these events. So it may
be concluded that they are yet future.
A second question arises: What is the relationship of the seals to the
Rapture of the church? In the letter to Thyatira the Rapture is
pictured as yet future (2:25, 28) and the Rapture is in view in the
letter to the church in Philadelphia (3:10-11). Beginning in chapter 6,
however, there is no reference whatever to the churches or to the
Rapture that is described in familiar passages (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:51-58;
1 Thes. 4:13-18). Since neither the Rapture nor the church are the
subject of Revelation 6-18, many conclude that the Rapture of the
church takes place before the events beginning in chapter 4 and thus
precedes the Tribulation (for full discussion see Charles C. Ryrie,
Revelation; Charles C. Ryrie, The Final Countdown; and John F.
Walvoord, The Rapture Question).
A third question: What is the relationship of the seals to Daniel 9:27?
Israel's program, concluding in the 70th week of Daniel, is best
understood as related to the scenes here described in Revelation.
Though some have tried to find historic fulfillment of Daniel 9:27,
nothing in history really corresponds to it; so it is better to
consider the last seven years as the final period leading up to the
Second Coming and therefore still future.
A fourth question: Does Revelation deal with the entire seven years
anticipated in Daniel 9:27 or only with the last three and one-half
years, often referred to as "the Great Tribulation" or "a time of great
distress"? (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21) Because the Great
Tribulation is specifically mentioned in Revelation 7:14 and the same
period is called "the great day of their wrath" (6:17), there seems to
be clear identification of Daniel 9:27 with the events of Revelation.
Most expositors assume that the events beginning in Revelation 6 cover
the whole seven-year period. The Book of Revelation, however, never
uses a seven-year figure but frequently refers to three and one-half
years or 42 months (11:2; 13:5). Because the events of chapter 6 and
afterward seem to coincide with the Great Tribulation rather than with
the time of peace in the first half of the seven years (1 Thes. 5:3),
there are good reasons for concluding that these great events are
compacted in the last three and one-half years before Christ's return
to the earth. Certainly at least by the fourth seal (Rev. 6:7-8), the
events described anticipate a time of unprecedented trouble.
A fifth question: What is the relationship of the events of Revelation
to Christ's sermon on the end times? (Matt. 24-25) As J. Dwight
Pentecost points out (Things to Come, pp. 280-82), the order of events
in Revelation and the order of events in Matthew are strikingly
similar: (a) war (Matt. 24:6-7; Rev. 6:3-4), (b) famine (Matt. 24:7;
Rev. 6:5-6), (c) death (Matt. 24:7-9; Rev. 6:7-8), (d) martyrdom (Matt.
24:9-10, 16-22; Rev. 6:9-11), (e) the sun and the moon darkened with
stars falling (Matt. 24:29; Rev. 6:12-14), (f) divine judgment (Matt.
24:32-25:26; Rev. 6:15-17). It should be obvious that the events of
Revelation have their background in previous prophecies, which aids in
interpreting John's symbolic revelation. The evidence points to the
conclusion that it describes the final period (probably the final three
and one-half years) climaxed by the second coming of Christ to set up
His kingdom (for further discussion, see Walvoord, Revelation, pp.
123-28; also cf. comments on Matt. 24-25).
6:1-2. As John watched the events after the opening of the first...
seal by the Lamb, he saw a white horse with a rider holding a bow,
wearing a victor's crown (stephanos), and going forth to conquer.
Because Christ in His second coming is pictured (19:11) as riding on a
white horse, some have taken it that this rider in 6:2 also must refer
to Christ, as the white horse is a symbol of victory. Roman generals
after a victory in battle would ride a white horse in triumph with
their captives following. The chronology, however, is wrong, as Christ
returns to the earth as a conqueror not at the beginning of the
Tribulation but at the end of the Tribulation. Also the riders on the
other horses obviously relate to destruction and judgment which precede
the second coming of Christ by some period of time.
A better interpretation is that the conqueror mentioned here is the
future world ruler, sometimes referred to as Antichrist though
Revelation does not use this term. He is probably the same person as
the ruler of the people mentioned in Daniel 9:26. This ruler has a bow
without an arrow, indicating that the world government which he
establishes is accomplished without warfare (see comments on Rev.
13:4). The future world government begins with a time of peace but is
soon followed by destruction (1 Thes. 5:3). In general, the seals,
trumpets, and bowls of divine wrath signal the terrible judgments of
God on the world at the end of the Age, climaxing in the second coming
of Christ.
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