Revelation Ch 6
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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!”
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.
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
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.
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!”
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
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.
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.
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?”
Then they were each given a white robe 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.
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,
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
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,
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,
for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
The Six Seals and Four Horseman
Intro Information
The debate of when this happens is centered around the Tribulation. Before or the Start of it
We have 4 living Creatures again
We have 4 horseman on 4 horses( represents speed, strength and warfare) these things will happen swiftly.
( like when Alexander the great swept the world or when Hitler with his blitzkrieg rolled through Europe)
In a Roman procession the general was in front riding a chariot pulled by 4 horses
7 seals - we will look at six of them today
Lamb which is Jesus
7 characteristics of Judgement Day. - Remember 7 represents completion -
We are still in the Throne Room- This vision is like a summary of what is to come. We get pieces that seem to be in Chronological order, we obviously get some that overlap. But in it all lets not lose the Main ideas
Worship Ch 4
Worthy Ch 5
Wrath Ch 6 ( Sovereign judgement over evil ) -this will challenge your fluffy Jesus / Mr Rodgers - Jesus Picture - This is a picture of a father who has been watching / involved / and patient saying we are done here.
It is the perfect timing of God- exercising His perfect Will - in an imperfect world
The question most people want to know is WHEN ?
Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.
“But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers.
But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.
So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you,
for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!
Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you.
And everyone will hate you because you are my followers.
But not a hair of your head will perish!
By standing firm, you will win your souls.
“And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived.
Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in the country should not return to the city.
For those will be days of God’s vengeance, and the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled.
How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against this people.
They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.
“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.
People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory.
So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”
The Answer is Not Yet but Soon
Lets get into the Seals
There is 6 seals opened in this Chapter with one to follow in Chapter 8
That seventh seal brings 7 angels with 7 judgments and seven bowls
Some say the seals are birth pains
Also the Anti Christ comes out with the first horse
1st Seal= White Horse
A very interesting word is used and it is the word COME. It was not come and see but rather come forth. - Lets use the phrase Let it begin
White Horse
The challenge with the first horse is it comes with 2 choices of who the rider is?
The main reason is because the horse is white
Jesus and theologians correlate this with Rev 19:11-16
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Some of the Challenges is the rider of the Horse in Rev 6 has a bow - not a sword and the conquering of of this rider is one over nations to hurt the righteous not deliver them.
A crown Jesus already had - not one given him (symbol of authority to conquer.
Also Zechariah ch 1 there was a call to repentence and one of the horses was white.
ii. Anti Christ- This rider is the Anti-Christ who looks like the Christ but who is not - He is a false deliverer
It would seem the logical person is actually the AntiChrist the false Messiah - The great delusion
He was allowed to conquer - we do not see this as a good thing as we read on.
The rider of Rev ch 19 comes after this rider
2nd Seal = Red Horse
The Living Creature that says come has the face of an OX
The rider removes peace from the earth - He was given a sword this is not a large sword like the one David killed Goliath with it is a small sword used in hand to hand combat.
It does represent a great slaughter of people
Theologians think it is a religious genocide or at the very least religious persecution.
The world defines peace as crushed opposition b way of force.
Putin would say he is bringing peace on the people of Russia- Peace by the use of fear. In reality he is not bringing peace - He is bringing bloodshed.
Our media does the same thing it trys to promote peace by crushing the opposition and using fear
3rd Seal = Black Horse
The rider has a scale which represents famine and economic disaster
the four staples of the region were Wheat , Barley if you were poor, Oil and Wine
The quart represents the portion for a man for one day
The famine would represent the scarcity of food and the food you did have would have been inflated up to 15 times its value.
To me sometimes the black horse represents crude oil and the inflation it causes - we see this today with an insignificant amount of oil USA uses from Russia but the price of our fuel has gone up astronomically
Interesting Revelation 13:17
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.
In todays world it might not be the price of grain - but inflation. I heard that next year PGE wants to rise the cost of energy 22%.
4th Seal = Pale Horse
The pale horse color is the color of death ( a greenish grey)
The Rider is death - responsible for a quarter of the earth deaths - at this point that would be approximately 2 billion people
Hades follows the rider it represents the place of the dead - the underworld grave
5th Seal = God Hears the voices of the Martyrs
God hears and assures us that your prayers will be answered - The prayer is really how long do we put up with this?
Interesting to note they are under the altar and prayers are like incense which is the altar of incense so it is a combination of sacrifice and worship - God recognizes it.
Not only does he recognize it He purifies and dresses you in white
We have already read about it in Rev 3
‘But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
God is appealed to as - Sovereign, Holy, True, Judge
They cry - Vindication
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
6th Seal= Judgement Day - Cosmic Catastrophe
Six things happen - Earthquakes
Sun turns black
Moon turns red
Stars Fall - massive meteorite shower
Heavens curl up
Mountains and Islands are moved
“The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
In the midst of all this- those who thought they we secure were not.
He mentions the 7 groups - Kings- Great ones - Generals- Rich -Powerful - slave -free
Conclusion
Why is all this allowed?
God is giving you a glimpse of what evil looks like and its consequences.
God is showing you how He is going to decisively deal with it.
It shows the violence of demonic powers and the hostility towards Gods people
A very real anti-christ is coming and he is the master counterfeit - He will deceive many.
So what is the point of this chapter - Not only is God worthy to worship - but God will deal decisively with the enemy
The judge is going to judge righteously. Evil will come under judgement once and for all eternity.
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