REVELATION
Chapter 6
"The Seal Judgments"
INTRODUCTION:
1. The opening of the seals ushers in the terrible judgments to fall upon the earth after the church has been raptured.
2. The events of Chapter 6 correspond to:
a. Matt. 24:3-8 (Note the same conditions [v.6]: false Christs, wars, famines, pestilences, earth- quakes)
b. Daniel 9:26,27--Daniel's Seventieth Week
3. These occurences will take place during the first 3-1/2 years of the Tribulation period. (cf. Mt. 24:8)
4. As the six seals are opened, John hears the noise of thunder; symbolic of the coming storm. (Rev. 6:1)
I. THE FALSE CHRIST (vs.1,2) The White Horse
A. The Problem - Who is the rider on the white horse?
1. He is not Christ.
2. He rides no white horse until Rev. 19:11-16 at the end of the Tribulation and His coming to assume His reign.
3. He comes with a sword, not a bow. (Rev. 19:15)
4. He does not bring war, famine and strife when He comes, but peace and the Millennial Age. (cf. Isa. 9:6)
B. The Person
1. He is the coming world dictator, the Antichrist.
2. He comes at the outset of the Tribulation after the Rapture. (II Thess. 2:3,7,8)
3. He will lead the world to a temporary peace. (Dan. 9:27)
a. His weapon - a bow with no arrows
b. Signifies conquest by peaceful means (cf. Rev. 17:13,17)
c. He brings the federation of nations (10) together to end all war.
d. "By forcing on mankind more and more lethal weapons and at the same time making the whole world more and more interdependent economically, technology has brought mankind to such a degree of distress that we are ripe for deifying any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the world unity and peace." (A. J. Toynbee)
e. He wears a crown (v.2)
1) The victor's crown; not the crown of a sovereign (diadem)
2) Signifying a temporary peace after which he will plunge the nations into war (Dan. 11:36-45)
II. THE FEARFUL CONFLICT (vs.3,4) The Red Horse
A. The Symbolism - "red," the color of blood
1. The rider on the white horse now reveals his true identity.
2. The sword is a symbol of war.
B. The Slaughter (v.4)
1. The antichrist will "take peace from the earth." "Take" means to take something caused by a self- prompted action (Gr.)
2. Not only will there be war between nations, but civil wars, race wars, class wars. (cf. Ezek. 38:21)
3. That this will be a time of great wars, see I Thess. 5:3; Joel 3:9,10.
III. THE FAMINE CONDITIONS (vs.5,6) The Black Horse
A. The Symbolism - black is the color of suffering and famine (cf. Lam. 5:10; Lam. 4:8-10; Job 30:30)
B. The Starving Ones (v.6)
1. Famine always follows war.
a. Because of war, no one is left to till the fields.
b. Plowshares are beaten into swords. (cf. Joel 3:9,10)
2. A day of rationing and destitution (v.6)
a. The "penny" was the Roman denarius, equal to about $.15.
b. The working class and poor will have two options:
1) They can buy one measure of wheat equal to one meal a day.
2) They can buy three measures of inferior grain equal to three meals a day.
3) Having used their money for food, they have nothing left over for other necessities.
c. It will be a world-wide famine.
C. The Satisfied Ones (v.6)
1. Oil and wine are the commodities of the rich.
2. While the poor starve, the rich will still be able to satisfy their fancies and will be largely untouched by the famine.
IV. THE FATEFUL CONCLUSION (vs.7,8) The Pale Horse
A. The Symbolism (v.8)
1. The color of the horse is literally pale green (chloros).
2. It is stated to be the color of death.
B. The Scourge (v.8) cf. Ezek. 14:21
1. The result of war and famine is death.
2. The result of pestilence is deadly infectious maladies.
3. Wild beasts
4. One-fourth of the earth's population will be destroyed during this first half of the Tribulation.
C. The Sentence (v.8) The grave (hell=hades) will follow after death to claim its victims.
V. THE FAITHFUL COMPANY (vs.9-11)
A. The Place of the Saints (v.9)
1. Their place under the altar marks their connection with the sacrifice of their lives.
2. These are different from the ones slain in v. 8.
a. They died due to world conditions.
b. These died as martyrs (witnesses) for their belief and stand for the True Christ.
B. The Prayer of the Saints (v.10)
1. The prayer is one of vengeance.
2. It is not the prayer of saints in the Age of Grace, but saints in an age of judgment.
3. It is essentially an O.T. prayer and legitimate for the time. (cf. Psa. 79:5-7; 94:1-10; Psa. 58:6,7)
4. They are pleading for justice on the basis of God's holy law. (Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:19-21)
C. The Promise to the Saints (v.11)
1. They are given white robes.
2. It was the assurance of their resurrection at the end of the Tribulation.
3. They are to trust God to bring His plan to fruition. "Rest for a little season" - until the season of martyrdom was past. ("fellowservants...brethren should be killed.")
D. The Persecution of the Saints (v.11)
1. These were only the beginning of the martyred saints.
2. These were the martyrs of the first 3-1/2 years of the Tribulation.
3. Many more would die for their testimony. (Matt. 24:9; Rev. 20:4)
VI. THE FINAL CONCLUSION (vs.12-17)
A. The Catastrophes (vs.12-14)
1. Earthquake - not merely an earthquake, but a shaking of the entire earth.
2. The heavens - "moved out of their places" (v.14)
B. The Cowering (vs.15-17)
1. It will finally be understood that these are divine judgments.
2. Rather than submit to the Lord they continue to reject Him.
a. Pray to the rocks and mountains
b. Pray to be hidden from His face
c. Pray to be kept from His wrath
C. The Certainty (v.17)
1. Judgment is coming.
2. Only those who will be able to stand are the ones who receive Christ by faith.
VII. THE FAILING COMMUNICATIONS (8:1) The Seventh Seal
A. A silence of awe (cf. Hab. 2:20)
B. A silence of awful judgment
1. The calm before the storm
2. "The seventh seal...introduces the final drama of the great tribulation. No wonder there is silence in heaven for half an hour before that seal is broken." (Ironside)
3. Heaven is stunned into silence by the judgments that are about to be unleashed.