Revelation 6

Introduction

This is the second group of seven that appears in the book of Revelation. The first group of seven is the seven churches. There are many views as to what these seals represent. However, it seems to represent a sequence of events that cover most of the seven year period before the second coming of Jesus Christ. Events are mentioned in a symbolic fashion here which are then described in more detail later in the book. In that sense the seals serve as an introductory summary or abstract to the events described in more detail in the rest of the book.

Textual Issues

The phrase "come and see" is not found in most of the early manuscripts. Instead, it simply says "come." This changes the command from being addressed to the Apostle John, to being addressed to the rider of the horse. The angel is telling the rider of each horse to come forth.

The Four Horsemen

When the first four seals are opened a horse with a rider comes forth. Each of the four horses has a different color. These four horsemen parallel what Jesus calls the beginning of sorrows in Matthew 24:8. It seems to represent the first half of the last seven years before the return of Jesus Christ. There is a sense in which these four horses describe the totality of the period between the two comings of Christ. We alternate between peace and prosperity on the one hand, and false religion, war, famine and death on the other.

The White Horse

The first horse is a white horse and is associated with the coming of a leader of peace. This is seen in the fact that he has a bow but no arrows and comes “conquering and to conquer." Many theologians believe that this figure represents the coming of the world ruler who will later show himself to be the Antichrist. Other theologians believe that this represents a period of world wide expansion of the gospel and that the figure on the white horse is Jesus Christ in a spiritual sense. Both possibilities do not contradict each other.

The Red Horse

The second horse represents war. This echoes the apostle Paul’s warning in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” The effort to unite the world under one government creates a total collapse of government, resulting in war and civil unrest. In the olivet discourse Jesus calls this “wars and rumors of war.”

The Black Horse

This horse represents famine. The collapse of political stability brings about economic chaos. The working poor are barely able to scrape enough to eat (the barley), the middle class struggles (the wheat), but the rich is not touched. They continue to enjoy their oil and their wine.

The Fifth Seal

John sees souls under the altar. This altar has not been mentioned earlier in the book of Revelation. However, a golden altar which is before the throne is mentioned in Revelation 8:3. This means that these martyred souls are in heaven. This is consistent with Paul’s belief that absence from the body represented being present in heaven II Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 1:23.

The Sixth Seal

This seal brings with it a cosmic disturbance. It appears to be a prelude to the judgement of the seven trumpets which are triggered by the seventh seal. The trumpet judgements likely describe a near extinction level asteroidal impact which destroys a third of all life on Earth. If that is the case, this seal represents the period of time which includes the realization that an impact is about to occur, preparation for the impact, and the initial smaller impacts of debris which precedes the bulk of the asteroid. This is in stark parallel to Matthew 24 where cosmic signs follow “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” In Matthew 24:22, Jesus says that the days of the tribulation will be cut short. It is possible that the appearance of this asteroid is the sign which causes that persecution to stop as the world government now has to deal with this existential threat.

The Day of His Wrath

The inhabitants of the Earth state that the great day of the wrath of the Lamb is come. This is a realization that cataclysmic judgement is on an inexorable path towards Earth and nothing can swart it now. The feeling is a kin to that felt by communities which find themselves in the path of a major hurricane, but to a much greater existential degree. Many interpreters of the Bible want to interpret the day of the Lord as a period of time which covers the whole of the seven years prior to the coming of Christ. However, this complicates the interpretation of statement that the great day of wrath is come. If God’s wrath covers seven years, why then does mankind only realize it at the very end? It is much more natural to recognize that the day of the Lord is exactly that, a day. It is a day in the same way that Noah’s flood began on a given day, also likely as the result of an asteroidal impact. It is the day that an asteroid nearly destroys the Earth and Jesus returns to rule over a devastated planet.

Keywords

revelation_6 revelation 6

See Also

References

Bibliography