Revelation 6 June 16, 2010

Revelation chapter six opens with the Lamb opening the sealed book. The first beast invites John to come and see. John sees a white horse in verse two.

1^st Seal – White Horse:

This horse and its rider represent the church in the days of the apostles. It was pure and its members were full of zeal. The bow in the rider’s hand represents conquest because the gospel was swiftly carried to many nations in the time of the young church.

2^nd Seal – Red Horse:

The red horse symbolizes the time period when the early church was persecuted at the hands of the Roman empire. The red symbolizes the blood of the church.

3^rd Seal – Black Horse:

The black horse indicates a time of defeat and corrupting of faith, a time of compromise for the early church. The balances in the rider’s hand are thought to represent the legalization of Christianity in the 4^th century, when the church and state were united.

Verse six:

The wheat, barley, oil, and wine were mentioned here at extremely high prices. This represents the time when the truth of the Bible was being overshadowed by pagan customs and worship. The truth in the Bible was in very short supply.

4^th Seal – Pale Horse:

This horse represents the “ dark ages” when Satan attempted to extinguish true Christianity.

5^th Seal:

There are souls underneath the altar which are the souls of the martyrs which have sacrificed themselves for God’s cause. The fifth seal was presented to encourage people who will have to face martyrdom and death, and assures them that despite the seeming triumph of the enemy, Jesus will mete out justice at His Second Coming.

6^th Seal:

The sixth seal is an earthquake, the sun turning black and the moon becoming blood, and the stars falling from heaven. These prophecies have already been fulfilled, although some Bible scholars believe that there will be another fulfillment in the future. The earthquake was fulfilled on November 1, 1755. The sun was darkened on May 19, 1780. The moon turned to blood that night. On November 13, 1833, the stars fell from heaven.

The chapter ends with the question “ Who shall be able to stand?” This comes after the mention of all the terrible things that will happen before Christ’s return, and so the question comes naturally, because there is no indication that anyone can survive. Chapter seven explains the answer.

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