In Revelation 6, we find six seals that are going to be broken, seals that are directly related to the scroll. The seals represent God’s vengeance; God’s wrath will be unleashed against Rome and her ungodly government.
God is in control, and He will deal with those who are punishing His saints. The saints asked God how much longer He would allow this to go on, and He told them to wait a little while longer because it was all going to work out, Revelation 6:1-11.
We see the hand of Christ opening the sealed book held in God’s right hand. Only Christ is qualified to open the seals. As the first seal is broken, there is the noise of thunder signifying an ominous announcement.
One of the four living creatures says, ‘Come and see.’ Thus, John is about to see the mystery contained within the scroll. He will see what is going to happen to the churches in their great struggle with the persecuting powers.
It was the Lamb, who is Jesus, who opened the first of the seven seals, because only He was worthy enough to do so, Revelation 5:5-9. John heard once again one of the four living creatures invite him to come and look. Thunder implies judgment is coming.
Before Solomon’s time, no horses were permitted in the armies of Israel, Deuteronomy 17:16-17. The horse was looked upon as a noble animal and a very valuable animal to man.
This first horse is a white horse, a white horse that was ridden by a conqueror returning from battle, his troops would march behind him, followed by those who had been captured to serve as slaves.
Who was the rider? Since Revelation is about victory in Jesus, it would seem that it could easily apply to Christ. We can be assured that the church will be victorious over the persecutors, Revelation 19:11 / Romans 8:37.
Jesus, the Lamb, now opens the second seal, and once again John is invited to come. This horse is coloured red, it’s a fiery red. Red would seem to stand for bloodshed; the rider of this horse would wage war, shedding blood, against the enemies of Christ and His church.
He has the power to overcome Satan and the nations he controls, all enemies of the church. He also carried a great sword with him. This is probably the idea of conquest; it can also signify destruction. The bloodthirsty enemies of the church cannot overcome the church as they may think.
Jesus, the Lamb, now opens the third seal, and again, the living creature invites him to come. This horse is coloured black, this is a colour of distress and calamity, it’s a picture of the grim, dread calamity of famine, Ezekiel 4:10 / Ezekiel 4:17. The balances were scales to measure out food, indicating the scarcity of food in the land.
The rider is told not to hurt the oil and wine; everything else would be scarce except these two commodities. Why? This is difficult; oil and wine weren’t necessities of life; they would be looked upon as luxuries.
Could the meaning be that while the necessities of life were scarce, luxuries would be abundant? Oil and wine were also used as medicine. Could this mean the binding up of the hurts of the suffering Christians? We can only guess at best about this symbol.
Jesus, the Lamb, now opens the fourth seal, and once again the living creature invites him to come. This horse is a pale horse, which would indicate death since the name of the rider was Death. Hunger follows a famine, and this, in turn, leads to mass starvation. Under such circumstances, pestilence and ravaging diseases usually follow. They can destroy more than a war. Thus, this horse and rider represent pestilence.
Jesus says, he holds the keys of death and Hades, Revelation 1:18. Hades is another word for hell, the place where the Rich man found himself after he died, Luke 16:22-23. The term ‘death and Hades’ occurs only in the Book of Revelation. The one who sits on the pale horse has the name Death, with Hades following after him, Revelation 6:8.
In Revelation 20:13, death and Hades gave up the dead, who are then judged at the final judgment. Then both ‘death and Hades’ are thrown into the lake of fire, Revelation 20:14, along with anyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life, Revelation 20:15.
I am sure you would have noticed that ‘death and Hades’ are personified in the later passages. Thus, we have a picture of the grim reapers of death and Hades claiming those struck down with diseases, Ezekiel 14:12-23.
Jesus now opens the fifth seal, but this time John sees something different. The symbolism now changes. Up to this point, we have observed the means of judgment, and now we will begin to see the reason for the judgment.
The slain under the altar are the martyred saints; these are the ones who have suffered in the tribulation of losing their lives. Revelation 1:2 / Revelation 12:17 / Revelation 14:12 / Revelation 19:10. They cry out, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’
The altar symbolises the sacrificial nature of their death; they were sacrificed upon the altar of the Cause of Christ. They cry out for retribution against the persecutors. The ‘earth’ would be the place where these persecutors existed.
Each one is given a white robe, symbolical of victory and purity, Revelation 3:4 / Revelation 19:8, and they are told to be patient for God’s retribution, Isaiah 33:1 / Daniel 11:36 / Daniel 11:45.
We can know that God knows and cares deeply about our suffering. Here we see Christians crying out to God. Those Christians were told to wait a while because God would punish those who were harming them, Revelation 6:10-11.
We learn that God knows and cares about our suffering. How can he help us on a daily level to know that we’re not alone, that God loves us, and that He cares deeply for us! Hebrews 4:15 / 1 Peter 5:7.
God even cares for us enough that He provides us with the things of this life, Matthew 6:33. We are told that if we seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, things such as food, shelter, and clothing will be provided for us, Psalm 37:25.
We need to understand that the Book of Revelation contains some very practical lessons. When we struggle, have trials, face tribulation, or have things come into our lives that bring us great trouble, there is a God in Heaven who knows about our suffering, cares for us, and wants to help.
There’s an important question in the Book of Revelation, which is here. Christians are suffering, and it appears as if the Roman Empire will be the reigning world power. As you can imagine, Christians are wondering and asking, ‘God, we have held true to you; we have not given up; how long will we have to endure this?’
The key question from those who were being sacrificed at Rome’s altar was simply this. Christians wanted to know, how long will this continue to go on? Revelation 6:10. God, aren’t you going to avenge us? And what is God’s answer?
The Christians are desperate to know when all this suffering will end, but God gives them white robes and tells them to wait a little while longer and promises them that He will exercise vengeance on the ungodly when the time is right, Revelation 6:11. God will take care of righteous people in His time, Revelation 6:9-11 / Isaiah 33:1 / Daniel 11:36 / Daniel 11:45.
The lesson here is so powerful, Christians are robed in white, as a symbol of purity before God, and God tells them not to give up because He will repay those who are wicked. God is the One Who will take care of the ungodly. This, then, is an encouragement to be faithful and not to give up.
Part of understanding the Book of Revelation is understanding the main thoughts. The Book is like a drama or a vision unfolding on the scene. If we’re going to understand it, we must understand some of the main characters and some of the main thoughts. If we’re unfamiliar with those things, then we may end up approaching the Book of Revelation in a rather dismissive manner.
Jesus now opens the sixth seal, and what he saw must have been frightening. This seal depicts judgment in answer to the plea of the souls under the altar. The earthquake, the sun, the moon, and the stars are all judgment talk, Isaiah 34:4-6 / Jeremiah 4:23-25. In Matthew 24:29, Jesus uses the same language concerning judgment against Jerusalem, and this language isn’t anything new.
Jesus is using a language which some call apocalyptic, and it was very familiar to students of the Old Testament. We’re not familiar with it because we’re Gentiles, and so sometimes we think they’re talking about the second coming when they aren’t necessarily doing so.
For example, in the apocalyptic language, you often announced judgment by saying the whole cosmic structure, sun, moon, stars, were going to be shaken, Matthew 24:29 / Mark 13:24-25 / Luke 21:25. In fact, that was just an Old Testament way of saying God was about to judge a nation.
In Isaiah 13:10, we read about a judgment against Babylon, which is not to be interpreted literally; that’s a figure of that particular style of writing saying that God is going to judge Babylon. In Isaiah 34:4, we read about a judgment against Edom, again, that’s not to be interpreted literally; that’s a figure of that particular style of writing saying that God is going to judge Edom.
In Ezekiel 32:7-8, we read about a judgment against Egypt, again, that’s not to be interpreted literally; that’s a figure of that particular style of writing saying that God is going to judge Egypt.
When a Jew heard language like, the stars are going to be darkened, the moon is going to turn dark, the sun is going to fall. When they heard talk like that, they didn’t think that the ‘end of the world,’ they thought, ‘what nation is God judging now?’
And when Jesus uses that kind of language, Matthew 24:29 / Mark 13:24-25 / Luke 21:25, He’s saying that God is sending judgment upon Israel. Just like He did on Egypt, just like He did on Edom and Babylon.
This judgment will be on the Roman persecuting power as indicated in the words, ‘Every mountain and island were moved out of their places,’ Revelation 6:14. This seems to encompass the known Roman world. The kings and great men of Revelation 6:15 would fit the Roman authorities who spread out over the Roman Empire. They look for somewhere to hide, Isaiah 2:10-11 / Isaiah 2:19-22.
In Revelation 6:10, the saints asked God how much longer He would allow this to go on. He told them to be faithful a little while longer because it was all going to work out. This seal speaks of the wrath of the Lamb, Revelation 6:16. Notice what he says here, ‘For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’ Revelation 6:17.
This is picturing Rome and the coming destruction that was going to take place. People cried out, ‘God’s wrath is coming, how can we stand it?’ Even Rome realised that God was in control. These seals, representing acts of vengeance on God’s part, showed Rome that she was not in control. God was! And they desperately needed to submit to His will and obey the teaching of Christ.