Revelation Chapter 6
Revelation 6 describes the events that will be taking place during the seven-year period upon the earth known as the Great Tribulation - from the time that Jesus takes His church out at the rapture until He comes again with His church at His glorious second coming described in Revelation 19.
So, between Revelation 6 and 19 we have a detailed account of the horrors, destruction, and desolation coming to this old planet earth. (Chuck Smith)
(Rev 6:1-2) The first seal: The antichrist on a white horse
I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, "Come and see!" And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
. . .one of the seven seals (1)
The Lamb had received the title deed to the earth, but now the seals must be broken and the full writing disclosed to the world, with the usurper driven out of His inheritance. As each successive seal is broken, the Lord will unleash successive great judgments on the earth, with the ultimate end of purging the earth of its age-long domination by Satan. (Henry Morris)
. . .and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, "Come and see!" (1)
Each seal is associated with a living creature (zoa, one of the cherubim of Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10) who called out “come” (or, it could be translated “go forth”) to each horseman. (David Guzik)
. . . behold, a white horse (2)
If one were to take their interpretive clues more from cowboy movies than from the Bible, it would be easy to believe the rider on the white horse is Jesus. Jesus does return on a white horse in Revelation 19:11-16; but this is a satanic dictator who imitates Jesus.
Here we reach an interpretive crossroads of the Book of Revelation. You can tell much about how a person understands this book and God’s prophetic plan by seeing how they understand this first rider. Those who think Revelation is mostly a book of history believe that this rider is Jesus, the apostles, or the Roman emperors. Those who believe that this is a prophetic passage, yet to be fulfilled, often account this rider to be the antichrist. (David Guzik)
. . . and he who sat on it had a bow (2)
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. (Wiersbe)
A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. (2)
Commentators have noted the description of the rider. He is pictured as having a bow, symbol of distant victory, but no mention is made of the arrows. This has been construed as indicating a bloodless victory, but this interpretation cannot be dogmatically held. He is, however, given a crown, that is, the crown of a victor (Gr., Stephanos), not the crown of a sovereign. The emphasis is not so much on his authority as on his victory, as confirmed by the latter part of verse 2, where he is said to go forth conquering and to conquer. Though he is in fact destined to be a world ruler, the emphasis is on the temporary victory which is his. (Walvoord)
(Rev 6:3-4) The second seal: The one sitting on a red horse was given a great sword
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come!" Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.
Antichrist’s conquest begins in peace, but soon he exchanges the empty bow for a sword. The color red is often associated with terror and death: the red dragon (Rev. 12:3), the red beast (Rev. 17:3). It is a picture of wanton bloodshed. War has been a part of man’s experience since Cain killed Abel, so this image would speak to believers in every age, reminding them that God is ultimately in control, even though He is not responsible for the lawless deeds of men and nations. (Wiersbe)
(Rev 6:5-6) The third seal: The one sitting on a black horse had a balance in his hand
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come and see!" And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand. I heard a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, "A choenix (1 quart) of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix (3 quarts) of barley for a denarius! Don't damage the oil and the wine!"
Most scholars take this to be a reference to widespread famine on the earth. They say that the scales symbolize food being weighed out carefully. It is in such short supply that it must be rationed. Even then no one can get very much because it takes a day's wages to earn a single quart of wheat or, because it is cheaper, three quarts of barley. This would only be enough food for one person for a day. You would work all day long and all you would be able to earn at best would be enough for your own physical needs. There would be nothing for your family or for anyone else. But the luxuries, the oil and the wine, are left untouched.
But perhaps this is not referring to famine because in the next seal, as we will see, famine is specifically mentioned as part of that judgment. What else causes terrible shortages and creates high prices so that people cannot buy adequate amounts of food? It is inflation; economics out of control; panic in the marketplace! During the days of the Weimar Republic in Germany after World War I, I remember as a boy hearing accounts of people taking ten thousand German marks bills, loading them into wheelbarrows, and taking them to market to buy a single loaf of bread. That is what runaway inflation does. It makes money worthless. That in turn becomes an excuse for the rigid controls over buying and selling which we find in Chapter 13 when, under the reign of antichrist, the whole world is subjected to enormously restrictive controls so that "no one can buy or sell without the mark of the beast," (Revelation 13:17). (Ray Stedman)
Rev 6:7-8) The fourth seal: The one sitting on the pale horse has a name, and his name is death
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see!" And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hades (death / the grave) followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.
This last rider shows that there will be a tremendous death toll from the dictatorship, war, famine and other calamities described by the previous three horsemen.
Our modern age has seen hundreds of millions killed by dictators, war, and famine. Yet all that will pale in comparison to the death toll coming in the wake of this ultimate dictator. No wonder Jesus said of this time For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:21) (David Guzik)
(Rev 6:9-11) The fifth seal: Under the alter were the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. They cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.
I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed . . . (9)
When the Old Testament priest presented an animal sacrifice, the victim’s blood was poured out at the base of the brazen altar (Lev. 4:7, 18, 25, 30). In Old Testament imagery, blood represents life (Lev. 17:11).
So, here in Revelation, the souls of the martyrs “under the altar” indicates that their lives were given sacrificially to the glory of God. The apostle Paul had the same idea in mind when he wrote Philippians 2:17 and 2 Timothy 4:6. The Greek word martus, which gives us our English word martyr, simply means “a witness” (see Rev. 2:13; 17:6). These saints were slain by the enemy because of their witness to the truth of God and the message of Jesus Christ. The forces of Antichrist do not accept the truth, because Satan wants them to be deceived and accept his lies (see Rev. 19:20; 20:10; also 2 Thess. 2:9–12). (Wiersbe)
"How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (10)
In the fact that the martyrs ask for judgment upon those that dwell on the earth it is apparent that their persecutors are still living. Their cry for righteous judgment is in the same spirit as the Psalmist’s call to God to vindicate His holiness and righteousness in dealing with the injustice and oppression which characterize the human race. In answer to their question as to how long it will be, the reply is given in verse 11 that there is still a little time required for the fulfillment of God’s program, that other events must take place, that still additional martyrs must be added to their number. In a word, they are to wait until the time of Christ’s return in power and glory when God will deal in summary judgment with the earth. (Walvoord)
A long white robe was given to each of them. (11)
White robes are given to these souls under the altar who are invoking the judgment of God on their merciless adversaries. They are told that they must wait a little season till the time of Jacob’s trouble is ended and they are joined by their brethren who are yet to be slain. The hatred to God and His Christ rises ever higher until the Lord Jesus will be revealed from Heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God (2 Thessaloniansl:8). (Ironside)
(Rev 6:12-17) The six seal: A great earthquake and the wrath of the Lamb
I saw when he opened the six seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind. The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places. The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?"
While the inhabitants of the earth are still suffering under the famines, plagues, and violence of the earlier seal judgments, a great physical cataclysm will suddenly strike. For the first time in history—at least since the upheavals of the great flood—a global earthquake will convulse the earth, accompanied by tremendous volcanic eruptions, spewing vast quantities of dust particles into the upper atmosphere, turning the appearance of the sun into darkness and the moon blood-red. Note also that several Old Testament prophecies of the coming “day of the Lord” apparently predict the same catastrophe (e.g., Joel 2:30-31; Zephaniah 1:15; Isaiah 13:9-10). Very little is known about the triggering causes of earthquakes, but they are associated with great rock faults and tectonic instabilities. Somehow, perhaps occasioned in part by the worldwide droughts and falling water levels resulting from the earlier judgments, this global network of faults will coalesce into one gigantic “shaking” of the whole earth. The Greek word for “earthquake” is seismos, which literally means “shaking” (in this connection, note Isaiah 13:13; 2:19-21; Haggai 2:6). (Henry Morris)
These six seals have carried us almost to the very end of the whole seven-year period. We have been swiftly moving through this dramatic period. After the great tribulation, nature will be upset by some cosmic phenomenon. Perhaps it is the approach of an undetected heavenly body that will upset the gravity of the earth. Volcanoes will begin to spout lava; great earthquakes, much larger than the one we just experienced, will rumble through the earth; the stars will appear to be falling from the sky; the darkening of the sun and the moon will result from the ashes and dust caused by these phenomena.
"Immediately after the distress of those days [He is talking about the great tribulation],
'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
It is a vivid description of chaos in nature! The whole natural world goes on a rampage. Again, in Matthew 24 Jesus describes this same event, in Verses 29-30:
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:29-30 NIV) (Ray Stedman)