The First Six Seals Are Opened

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” Revelation 6:1

Revelation 6:1–17– The Book of Revelation: Worship. Obey. Endure.
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost  – August 7, 2022 (am)

The action of c.5 continues on into c.6. The Lion-Who-is-a-Lamb, Jesus, begins to open the seals on the scroll that contains God’s overall purpose and plan for blessing and cursing, salvation and judgment.

Dispensationalists see this as the beginning of the great tribulation, so the church has now been raptured to heaven. Remember, they see the rapture happening at 4:1, so the scene in cc.4-5 is still future. Think of it as the celebration that happens in heaven after Jesus rescues the church but before He returns to judge the living and the dead.

HPs see cc.4-5 as happening on the heels of Christ’s ascension and c.6 as descriptive of the whole church age (especially these first four seals [1-8]) which leads all the way up to the beginning of the end with the sixth seal (12-17). And this whole period is called the tribulation (Mat.24:9, 29). So, these first four horsemen, [conquest], [slaughter], [famine], and death, run through the whole of church history, all at the same time, between Jesus’ ascension and His return. Then the next two seals bring us to the very threshold of the last of the last days, the final round of birth pains (Mat.24:8), the last great tribulation (cf. Mat.24 21) before Jesus’ second coming (cf. Carson 2010 556).

We’ll find this to be a pattern among each of the sevens on your outline: the first four judgments are focused on earth and its inhabitants, then the last three are more cosmic expressions (that may still have manifestations on earth). This speaks to their nature and purpose. But as to their flow here (c.6), the first four come together, then the fifth and sixth more slowly, then we see another interlude (c.7) before the seventh (8:1-5). Clearly these seals are symbolic, but they’re also concrete—real things happen as the symbolic seals are slit. The same is true for the coming trumpets (8:6-11:19), bowls (16:1-21), and likely thunders (10:3-4). As to why there are sevens (and four of them!), God gives four warnings in Lev.26 (18, 21, 24, 28) regarding covenant disobedience: I will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.

It’s important to note that the initiation of each of these six seals is in response to a direct charge from the throne room of God (c.5). They’re coming from Him! And at least in these first four (1-8), He’s using the evil forces of the world to accomplish them, not unlike He did in Habakkuk’s day (Hab.1:5-11). And, just as there, we also see a dual role here for each of the judgements: at once they work for sanctification in believers and as punishments [on] unbelievers (Beale 1999 373).

Let’s look at this chapter in three parts.

The First Four Seals – 1-8

1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. Jesus opens one of the seals, then one of the living creatures gives the command, and each horseman answers the call in sequence—[he] who was seated on the throne (5:1) and the Lamb who was slain (5:12) are in sovereign control of all that happens in this world, no questions!

Because this first horse is white (cf. 19:11) and because the rider was given a crown and came out to conquer, some think this is Jesus. But it seems odd that Jesus would initiate His own coming, and especially at this stage of this Book.

Even so, others have thought this rider may have a positive role, e.g., that his conquering may represent the advance of the gospel (Ladd 96-99). But the parallels between these four horsemen and those in Zec.1:8ff. and 6:1ff., which depict God’s judgment, make that seem unlikely. These OT texts don’t line up perfectly with ours—for instance, there’s no indication that the horses’ particular color has an established meaning in apocalyptic. But it does point out that this imagery is not uncommon in this genre. And here there is discernible significance in the the colors: white is conquest, red is bloodshed, black is scarcity or famine, and pale is death—the color of death.

Although the images here are closer to Zec.1 and 6, the content is closer to Mat.24, Jesus’ sermon on the Mt. of Olives answering His disciples’ questions about the end times. The progression is the same here as there (Beasley-Murray 1994 1435). Each helps us understand the other.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay (lit. slaughter) one another, and he was given a great sword. Where the first rider brought conquest, which is more like warfare, powerful military force, the second rider brought confusion and strife, perhaps civil war (Beasley-Murray 1994 1435) or something more like civil unrest (especially for persecuted Christians) (Beale 1999 371).

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” These scales are the means of measuring out food evenly, especially during famine. A quart of wheat is enough for one man for one day, but a denarius is a day’s wage. This means a husband and father can’t afford to feed his family. But three quarts of barley was enough for three days, or one day for a typical family (Beale 1999 381). So, this suggests that the famine here, while serious, is not dire. Still, these prices are inflated ten-to-twelve times over the first-century norm. This recalls Ezekiel’s description of the siege of Jerusalem Eze.4:16 … behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. Regarding do not damage the oil and the wine, finer substances, these are still available, giving added indication that this famine is limited. And even though no one could afford them, they don’t want them destroyed or taken away. So, famine has been worse than this, even in Israel (cf. Eze.5:10).

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. This seems to be a summary of the previous three; we see here that this death comes from the previous three, then wild beasts are added. This draws from God’s promised judgments on unfaithful Israel. Eze.14:21 For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! Once again we see that the meaning of these judgments is anchored in Scripture more than current events. Today’s issues remind us that all this is true; they don’t help us set dates or decide which round of birth pains (Mat.24:8) we’re facing. Also, seeing that this touches a fourth of the earth tells us it’s significant, but not yet final.

The Fifth Seal – 9-11 This is the only seal which does not take place on the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. It’s uncertain here just what altar this is. But the image clearly suggests that these lives have been a form of sacrifice (Ladd 103), and in imitation of their Savior. And while it’s possible that these are literal martyrs, it’s also possible this refers to those who’ve remained faithful under persecution (Beale 1999 390); the symbol of identity for all Christians is a slain Lamb, and each has been called by Him to lose [their] life for [His] sake and for the gospel’s (Mar.11:35). The fact that they’re under the altar suggests protection (Beale 1999 391). 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” They’re still awaiting the day of redemption along with us and the rest of creation (cf. Rom.8:22-23).11 Then they were each given a white robe, the garb of the redeemed (7:9, 13; cf. 19:8), and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been (cf. 2Pe.3:9). The One seated on the throne and the Lamb are in complete and meticulous control of all that’s happening in this world! Also, this final statement doesn’t require that all these were killed as a direct result of their witness, but they remained faithful in the great tribulation (7:14).

Still, there have been more Christian martyrs in the last 150 years than in the previous 1,800 combined (Carson 1995). So, there’s no small number of true martyrs; there’s just no indication they’re set apart from other believers before the throne.

The Sixth Seal – 12-17

With the opening of first five seals, we’ve seen things that are happening throughout the church age, both on earth (with seals 1-4) and in heaven (fifth seal). Now we come to the very threshold of the future. We see cosmic disturbances—even when God comes close there are difficult signs. Think of Exo.19 and the manifestations of His presence at Sinai with the giving of the Law. Think Isa.2 and Hos.10 and people hiding in caves (15). There’s also Isa.13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. And Isa.34:4 All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. We think of Jer.4:24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. Such will be the days as the end approaches. 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

No advantage—wealth, military might, royal authority, nothing but Jesus—will be able to save you on that day!

There’s a mingling of poetic language and real disaster here. And it touches everyone—rich and poor, strong and weak. These are signs not that the end is near, but that it’s arrived (Beasley-Murray 1994 1436). But before we see any of that, we have another interlude of worship (c.7).

Conclusion

So, what do we learn from a text like this? I’ll suggest three things.

Aside from a strong refresher course on how thoroughly this book draws its imagery from the OT, not from current events, we learn that all current events do is provide us with fresh testimony that all we read here is true. And it’s coming. But there is just no way to know where we are in the process, how many rounds of birth pains (Mat.24:8) remain before that Day that’s known only to the Father? (Mat.24:36)

We also learn afresh how thoroughly all things are in the hands of our God—him who is seated on the throne (5:1) and the Lamb who was slain (5:12). What we see here is that He’s the one Who gives the Go! (or, No Go!) on all that happens on this earth, even war and bloodshed and famine and death! All we see that has us crying out with the saints under the altar, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge… those who dwell on the earth? (10) He’s got it! All of it!

And if we put these two together, we should be strengthened to stay with Him through any trial He allows in our day. The things we see, the things we experience, the hardships that prove the fallenness of this world, the disputations between nations and the dissensions between people, the scarcity that generates lack and even the death that results from all this—natural causes all the way to attacks by wild beasts!—all of this gets the go ahead from the throne room of our God! We could struggle mightily with this! Or we could recognize that only a God of such power, and proven goodness, is truly worthy of our worship!

Doesn’t that make a difference to you? If you know that what you’re facing today passed through the throne room of God and got the go ahead from there, for your sanctification if you’re a believer, doesn’t that make a difference in how you view today, receive it, respond to it?

And if you’ve not trusted Christ, the hardships of today are just a reminder that more and worse are ahead because He’s not working for your good. He wants you to turn around! (2Pe.3:9) And either you will, or you’ll face His judgment.

He’s worthy of our full, unswerving trust.

____________________

Resources

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NEXT WEEK’S SERMON: An Interlude of Promise, Praise, and Protection, 7:1–17