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Revelation Chapter Six

Revelation 6

What is to follow on earth now begins when the seals are opened. It will be remarked here that John standing in the ruin of the assembly gives prophetically all that passes from that failure till Christ comes in chapter 19. There is no ascension no rapture save as far as chapter 12 gives both together.

The first seals are simple; nor have I anything to offer very new upon them: first imperial conquests then wars then famine then pestilence carrying with it what Ezekiel calls God's four sore plagues (sword famine pestilence and the beasts of the earth). They speak of the providential course of God's dealings and hence the four beasts call attention to it; but they have God's voice in them the voice of the Almighty: that the ear of him who has the Spirit hears. These complete providential plagues as spoken of in scripture. Then direct judgments follow; but these are what we may call preparatory measures.

I have to notice that in the full plagues of verse 8 the whole Roman earth is not included. It is a fourth not a third. The plagues too note are limited in extent of sphere not universal.

The saints are those whom God is really thinking of and they come in remembrance before other scenes are brought out. Those who had been martyred for the word of God and their testimony demand how long before they were avenged; for we have ever to do here with a God of judgment. Their being under the altar means simply that they had offered their bodies as sacrifices for the truth to God. The white robes are the witness of their righteousness---God's declared approval of them; but the time for their being avenged was not yet. I do not think giving white robes is resurrection. The first resurrection is sovereign grace giving us the same place with Christ ("for ever with the Lord ") consequent on His work and His being our righteousness which is alike to all of us. White robes thus conferred are the recognition of the righteousness ('dikaioomata") [1] of the saints-hence are seen in chapter 19 at His appearing. "They shall walk with me in white for they are worthy." I am not denying that we are made clean and our robes white in the blood of the Lamb. But even where this is said in chapter 7 I think it refers especially to the way they have been associated by faith with the suffering position of Christ. Here white robes are given them-their service owned; but for avenging they must wait till a new scene of persecution had brought them companions who had to be honoured and avenged like them. Still this marks progress and finds its causein the dealing of God to bring about this new state of things which issues in final judgment and setting aside of evil. Here the judgments are providential.

The next thing to the claim for avenging is the breaking up of the whole system of earthly government and the terror of all on earth. How clearly we see here that we are in a scene of judgment and that God is a God of judgment! The desires of the saints are like the desires of the Psalms. We are not with children before the Father with grace with the gospel and the assembly; but with Jehovah where God is a God of judgment and by Him actions are weighed. We are on Old Testament ground that is prophecy not grace to the wicked though judgment brings in blessing.

The opening of the sixth seal brings an earthquake that is a violent convulsion of the whole structure of society. All the governing powers are therein visited; and seeing all subverted small and great think (with bad consciences as they have) that the day of the Lamb's wrath is come. But it is not though preparatory judgments with a view to His kingdom are there. But God thinks too of His saints on earth (where we must remember the assembly is never now seen) before the scenes which follow whether judgments on the Roman earth or the special workings of evil to secure and seal them for that day.

Footnotes

[1] It is very possible that the plural " righteousnesses " is a Hebraism for righteousness. It is a common case in moral things. At any rate it is of the saints.

── John Darby《Synopsis of Revelation》

Revelation 6

Chapter Contents

The opening of the seals The first second third and fourth. (1-8) The fifth. (9-11) The sixth. (12-17)

Commentary on Revelation 6:1-8

(Read Revelation 6:1-8)

Christ the Lamb opens the first seal: observe what appeared. A rider on a white horse. By the going forth of this white horse a time of peace or the early progress of the Christian religion seems to be intended; its going forth in purity at the time when its heavenly Founder sent his apostles to teach all nations adding Lo! I am with you alway even to the end of the world. The Divine religion goes out crowned having the Divine favour resting upon it armed spiritually against its foes and destined to be victorious in the end. On opening the second seal a red horse appeared; this signifies desolating judgments. The sword of war and persecution is a dreadful judgment; it takes away peace from the earth one of the greatest blessings; and men who should love one another and help one another are set upon killing one another. Such scenes also followed the pure age of early Christianity when neglectful of charity and the bond of peace the Christian leaders divided among themselves appealed to the sword and entangled themselves in guilt. On opening the third seal a black horse appeared; a colour denoting mourning and woe darkness and ignorance. He that sat on it had a yoke in his hand. Attempts were made to put a yoke of superstitious observances on the disciples. As the stream of Christianity flowed further from its pure fountain it became more and more corrupt. During the progress of this black horse the necessaries of life should be at excessive prices and the more costly things should not be hurt. According to prophetic language these articles signified that food of religious knowledge by which the souls of men are sustained unto everlasting life; such we are invited to buy Isaiah 55:1. But when the dark clouds of ignorance and superstition denoted by the black horse spread over the Christian world the knowledge and practice of true religion became scarce. When a people loathe their spiritual food God may justly deprive them of their daily bread. The famine of bread is a terrible judgment; but the famine of the word is more so. Upon opening the fourth seal another horse appeared of a pale colour. The rider was Death the king of terrors. The attendants or followers of this king of terrors hell a state of eternal misery to all who die in their sins; and in times of general destruction multitudes go down unprepared into the pit. The period of the fourth seal is one of great slaughter and devastation destroying whatever may tend to make life happy making ravages on the spiritual lives of men. Thus the mystery of iniquity was completed and its power extended both over the lives and consciences of men. The exact times of these four seals cannot be ascertained for the changes were gradual. God gave them power that is those instruments of his anger or those judgments: all public calamities are at his command; they only go forth when God sends them and no further than he permits.

Commentary on Revelation 6:9-11

(Read Revelation 6:9-11)

The sight the apostle beheld at the opening the fifth seal was very affecting. He saw the souls of the martyrs under the altar; at the foot of the altar in heaven at the feet of Christ. Persecutors can only kill the body; after that there is no more they can do; the soul lives. God has provided a good place in the better world for those who are faithful unto death. It is not their own death but the sacrifice of Christ that gives them entrance into heaven. The cause in which they suffered was for the word of God; the best any man can lay down his life for; faith in God's word and the unshaken confession of that faith. They commit their cause to Him to whom vengeance belongs. The Lord is the comforter of his afflicted servants and precious is their blood in his sight. As the measure of the sin of persecutors is filling up so is the number of the persecuted martyred servants of Christ. When this is fulfilled God will send tribulation to those who trouble them and unbroken happiness and rest to those that are troubled.

Commentary on Revelation 6:12-17

(Read Revelation 6:12-17)

When the sixth seal was opened there was a great earthquake. The foundations of churches and states would be terribly shaken. Such bold figurative descriptions of great changes abound in the prophecies of Scripture; for these events are emblems and declare the end of the world and the day of judgment. Dread and terror would seize on all sorts of men. Neither grandeur riches valour nor strength can support men at that time. They would be glad to be no more seen; yea to have no longer any being. Though Christ be a Lamb he can be angry and the wrath of the Lamb is exceedingly dreadful; for if the Redeemer himself who appeases the wrath of God be our enemy where shall we find a friend to plead for us? As men have their day of opportunity and their seasons of grace so God has his day of righteous wrath. It seems that the overthrow of the paganism of the Roman empire is here meant. The idolaters are described as hiding themselves in their dens and secret caves and vainly seeking to escape ruin. In such a day when the signs of the times show those who believe in God's word that the King of kings is approaching Christians are called to a decided course and to a bold confession of Christ and his truth before their fellowmen. Whatever they may have to endure the short contempt of man is to be borne rather than that shame which is everlasting.

── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Revelation》

Revelation 6

Verse 1

[1] And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals and I heard as it were the noise of thunder one of the four beasts saying Come and see.

I heard one-That is the first. Of the living creatures - Who looks forward toward the east.

Verse 2

[2] And I saw and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to conquer.

And I saw and behold a white horse and he that sat on him had a bow — This colour and the bow shooting arrows afar off betoken victory triumph prosperity enlargement of empire and dominion over many people. Another horseman indeed and of quite another kind appears on a white horse Revelation 19:11. But he that is spoken of under the first seal must be so understood as to bear a proportion to the horsemen in the second third and fourth seal. Nerva succeeded the emperor Domitian at the very time when the Revelation was written in the year of our Lord 96. He reigned scarce a year alone; and three months before his death he named Trajan for his colleague and successor and died in the year 98. Trajan's accession to the empire seems to be the dawning of the seven seals.

And a crown was given him — This considering his descent Trajan could have no hope of attaining. But God gave it him by the hand of Nerva; and then the east soon felt his power.

And he went forth conquering and to conquer — That is from one victory to another. In the year 108 the already victorious Trajan went forth toward the east to conquer not only Armenia Assyria and Mesopotamia but also the countries beyond the Tigris carrying the bounds of the Roman empire to a far greater extent than ever. We find no emperor like him for making conquests. He aimed at nothing else; he lived only to conquer. Meantime in him was eminently fulfilled what had been prophesied of the fourth empire Daniel 2:40; 7:23 that he should "devour tread down and break in pieces the whole earth."

Verse 3

[3] And when he had opened the second seal I heard the second beast say Come and see.

And when he had opened the second seal I heard the second living creature — Who looked toward the west.

Saying Come — At each seal it was necessary to turn toward that quarter of the world which it more immediately concerned.

Verse 4

[4] And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

There went forth another horse that was red — A colour suitable to bloodshed.

And to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth — Vespasian in the year 75 had dedicated a temple to Peace; but after a time we hear little more of peace. All is full of war and bloodshed chiefly in the western world where the main business of men seemed to be to kill one another. To this horseman there was given a great sword; and he had much to do with it; for as soon as Trajan ascended the throne peace was taken from the earth. Decebalus king of Dacia which lies westward from Patmos put the Romans to no small trouble. The war lasted five years and consumed abundance of men on both sides; yet was only a prelude to much other bloodshed which followed for a long season. All this was signified by the great sword which strikes those who are near as the bow does those who are at a distance.

Verse 5

[5] And when he had opened the third seal I heard the third beast say Come and see. And I beheld and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

And when he had opened the third seal I heard the third living creature — Toward the south.

Saying Come. And behold a black horse — A fit emblem of mourning and distress; particularly of black famine as the ancient poets term it.

And he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand — When there is great plenty men scarce think it worth their while to weigh and measure everything Genesis 41:49. But when there is scarcity they are obliged to deliver them out by measure and weight Ezekiel 4:16. Accordingly these scales signify scarcity. They serve also for a token that all the fruits of the earth and consequently the whole heavens with their courses and influences; that all the seasons of the year with whatsoever they produce in nature or states are subject to Christ. Accordingly his hand is wonderful not only in wars and victories but likewise in the whole course of nature.

Verse 6

[6] And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say A measure of wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

And I heard a voice — It seems from God himself.

Saying — To the horseman "Hitherto shalt thou come and no farther." Let there be a measure of wheat for a penny - The word translated measure was a Grecian measure nearly equal to our quart. This was the daily allowance of a slave. The Roman penny as much as a labourer then earned in a day was about sevenpence halfpenny English. According to this wheat would be near twenty shillings per bushel. This must have been fulfilled while the Grecian measure and the Roman money were still in use; as also where that measure was the common measure and this money the current coin. It was so in Egypt under Trajan.

And three measures of barley for a penny — Either barley was in common far cheaper among the ancients than wheat or the prophecy mentions this as something peculiar.

And hurt not the oil and the wine — Let there not be a scarcity of everything. Let there he some provision left to supply the want of the rest This was also fulfilled in the reign of Trajan especially in Egypt which lay southward from Patmos. In this country which used to be the granary of the empire there was an uncommon dearth at the very beginning of his reign; so that he was obliged to supply Egypt itself with corn from other countries. The same scarcity there was in the thirteenth year of his reign the harvest failing for want of the rising of the Nile: and that not only in Egypt but in all those other parts of Afric where the Nile uses to overflow.

Verse 7

[7] And when he had opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth beast say Come and see.

I heard the voice of the fourth living creature — Toward the north.

Verse 8

[8] And I looked and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth.

And I saw and behold a pale horse — Suitable to pale death his rider.

And hades — The representative of the state of separate souls.

Followeth even with him — The four first seals concern living men. Death therefore is properly introduced. Hades is only occasionally mentioned as a companion of death. So the fourth seal reaches to the borders of things invisible which are comprised in the three last seals.

And power was given to him over the fourth part of the earth — What came single and in a lower degree before comes now together and much more severely. The first seal brought victory with it: in the second was "a great sword;" but here a scimitar. In the third was moderate dearth; here famine and plague and wild beasts beside. And it may well be that from the time of Trajan downwards the fourth part of men upon the earth that is within the Roman empire died by sword famine pestilence and wild beasts. "At that time " says Aurelius Victor "the Tyber overflowed much more fatally than under Nerva with a great destruction of houses and there was a dreadful earthquake through many provinces and a terrible plague and famine and many places consumed by fire." By death - That is by pestilence wild beasts have at several times destroyed abundance of men; and undoubtedly there was given them at this time an uncommon fierceness and strength. It is observable that war brings on scarcity and scarcity pestilence through want of wholesome sustenance; and pestilence by depopulating the country leaves the few survivors an easier prey to the wild beasts. And thus these judgments make way for one another in the order wherein they are here represented. What has been already observed may be a fourfold proof that the four horsemen as with their first entrance in the reign of Trajan (which does by no means exhaust the contents of the four first seals ) so with all their entrances in succeeding ages and with the whole course of the world and of visible nature are in all ages subject to Christ subsisting by his power and serving his will against the wicked and in defence of the righteous. Herewith likewise a way is paved for the trumpets which regularly succeed each other; and the whole prophecy as to what is future is confirmed by the clear accomplishment of this part of it.

Verse 9

[9] And when he had opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held:

And when he opened the fifth seal — As the four former seals so the three latter have a close connexion with each other. These all refer to the invisible world; the fifth to the happy dead particularly the martyrs; the sixth to the unhappy; the seventh to the angels especially those to whom the trumpets are given.

And I saw — Not only the church warring under Christ and the world warring under Satan; but also the invisible hosts both of heaven and hell are described in this book. And it not only describes the actions of both these armies upon earth; but their respective removals from earth into a more happy or more miserable state succeeding each other at several times distinguished by various degrees celebrated by various thanksgivings; and also the gradual increase of expectation and triumph in heaven and of terror and misery in hell.

Under the altar — That is at the foot of it. Two altars are mentioned in the Revelation "the golden altar" of incense Revelation 9:13; and the altar of burnt-offerings mentioned here and Revelation 8:5; 14:18; 16:7. At this the souls of the martyrs now prostrate themselves. By and by their blood shall be avenged upon Babylon; but not yet whence it appears that the plagues in the fourth seal do not concern Rome in particular.

Verse 10

[10] And they cried with a loud voice saying How long O Lord holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

And they cried — This cry did not begin now but under the first Roman persecution. The Romans themselves had already avenged the martyrs slain by the Jews on that whole nation.

How long — They knew their blood would be avenged; but not immediately as is now shown them.

O Lord — The Greek word properly signifies the master of a family: it is therefore beautifully used by these who are peculiarly of the household of God.

Thou Holy One and true — Both the holiness and truth of God require him to execute judgment and vengeance.

Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? — There is no impure affection in heaven: therefore this desire of theirs is pure and suitable to the will of God. The martyrs are concerned for the praise of their Master of his holiness and truth: and the praise is given him Revelation 19:2 where the prayer of the martyrs is changed into a thanksgiving: - Thou holy One and true: "True and right are thy judgments." How long dost thou not judge "He hath judged the great whore and avenge our blood? and hath avenged the blood of his servants."

Verse 11

[11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season until their fellowservants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.

And there was given to every one a white robe — An emblem of innocence joy and victory in token of honour and favourable acceptance.

And it was said to them — They were told how long. They were not left in that uncertainty.

That they should rest — Should cease from crying. They rested from pain before.

A time — This word has a peculiar meaning in this book to denote which we may retain the original word chronos. Here are two classes of martyrs specified the former killed under heathen Rome the latter under papal Rome. The former are commanded to rest till the latter are added to them. There were many of the former in the days of John: the first fruits of the latter died in the thirteenth century. Now a time or chronos is 1111 years. This chronos began A. C. 98 and continued to the year 1209; or from Trajan's persecution to the first crusade against the Waldenses.

Till — It is not said Immediately after this time is expired vengeance shall be executed; but only that immediately after this time their brethren and fellowservants will come to them. This event will precede the other; and there will be some space between.

Verse 12

[12] And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal and lo there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood;

And I saw — This sixth seal seems particularly to point out God's judgment on the wicked departed. St. John saw how the end of the world was even then set before those unhappy spirits. This representation might be made to them without anything of it being perceived upon earth. The like representation is made in heaven Revelation 11:18.

And there was a great earthquake — Or shaking not of the earth only but the heavens. This is a farther description of the representation made to those unhappy souls.

Verse 13

[13] And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

And the stars fell to or towards the earth - Yea and so they surely will let astronomers fix their magnitude as they please.

As a fig tree casteth its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind — How sublimely is the violence of that shaking expressed by this comparison!

Verse 14

[14] And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the heavens departed as a book that is rolled together — When the scripture compares some very great with a little thing the majesty and omnipotence of God before whom great things are little is highly exalted.

Every mountain and island — What a mountain is to the land that an island is to the sea.

Verse 15

[15] And the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

And the kings of the earth — They who had been so in their day.

And the great men and chief captains — The generals and nobles.

Hid themselves — So far as in them lay.

In the rocks of the mountains — There are also rocks on the plains; but they were rocks on high which they besought to fall upon them.

Verse 16

[16] And said to the mountains and rocks Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb:

To the mountains and the rocks — Which were tottering already verse 12. Revelation 6:12 Hide us from the face of him - Which "is against the ungodly " Psalms 34:16.

── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Revelation》

Chapter 6. Open Six Seals

Hide in Caves
Hide from the Wrath of the Lamb

I. The First and Second Seals

1. The Living Creature Says "Come"
2. The Heresy of the White Horse
3. The Fight of the Red Horse

II. The Third and Fourth Seals

1. The Living Creature Says "Come"
2. The Famine of the Black Horse
3. The Death of the Pale Horse

III. The Fifth and Sixth Seals

1. Slain because of the Word
2. Call Out in a Loud Voice
3. Shake of Heaven and Earth

── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》

 
Chapter Six General Review
 
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER
 
1) To consider what may be the meaning of the different seals and their
 symbols
 
SUMMARY
 
In this chapter the Lamb looses six of the seven seals on the scroll.
I view the first four seals as revealing forces God would use to bring
judgment upon the oppressors of His people (1-8). Notice what is said
about the different riders:
 
 "...a crown was given to him..." (the rider on the white horse)
 
 "...it was granted to the one...there was given to him..." (the
 rider on the red horse)
 
 "...a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying" (the
 rider on the black horse)
 
 "...power was given to them..." (riders on the pale horse - Death
 and Hades)
 
Who had the power to give a crown
or to grant such authority? Who in
the midst of the four living creatures might have spoken? Who had the
power to give to Death and Hades? When we consider that Jesus is the
ruler of the kings of the earth (1:5)
that He has the keys of Hades
and of Death (1:18)
and that He was in the midst of the four living
creatures (5:6)
it seems apparent that the answer is Christ! I.e.

the horses and their riders were acting upon the authority and power 
given them by Christ. Therefore I suggest the following explanations 
for the first four seals:
 
 The white horse and its rider - Represents military conquest
such
 as God used to bring judgment upon Assyria (Isa 10:5-7
12-13
15-16)
 and Babylon (Isa 13:17-20). Here
the rider with the bow depicts a
 Parthian warrior
renown for their use of the bow as a weapon
and
 who were dreaded enemies of the Romans.
 
 The red horse and its rider - Represents civil war
in which people
 would kill one another
such as God used in His judgment against 
 Egypt (Isa 19:1-4).
 
 The black horse and its rider - Represents famine
where necessities
 (wheat and barley) would be scarce
while luxuries (oil and wine) 
 might be in abundance but of little interest to the hungry. God had
 used famine in His judgment upon Israel (cf. Jer 14:11-12).
 
 The pale horse and its riders (Death and Hades) - Represents death
 brought about by the sword
hunger
death (pestilence)
and beasts
 of the earth. Such severe judgments God had brought upon Jerusalem
 in the past (cf. Ezek 5:17; 6:12; 14:21).
 
With the fifth seal
we are told WHY God would bring such judgments.
Souls have been slain for the word of God and their testimony
and when
the time is right the judgments will begin. In the meantime
the souls
of the slain are comforted with white robes and told to rest (9-11).
 
The sixth seal describes cosmic disturbances and the despair of those
trying to hide from God's wrath. Is this scene depicting the end of 
time (cf. 2 Pe 3:7-12)? The language is reminiscent of that used to
describe God's judgment upon Babylon (Isa 13:1-22) and Samaria (Hos
10:7-8). Jesus used similar language to warn the people of His day of
the impending destruction of Jerusalem (Lk 23:28-30). Therefore I tend
to view it as referring to the judgment coming (perhaps in the form of
natural calamities) upon those who persecuted God's people in the first
century
and how the guilty will not be able to escape in the day of 
the Lamb's wrath (12-17).
 
OUTLINE
 
I. THE FOUR HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS (1-8)
 
 A. FIRST SEAL - RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE (1-2)
 1. The Lamb opens the first seal
 2. One of the four living creatures says "Come"
 3. John sees a white horse and its rider
 a. The man had a bow
 b. A crown was given to him
 c. The man went out conquering and to conquer
 
 B. SECOND SEAL - RIDER ON THE RED HORSE (3-4)
 1. The Lamb opens the second seal
 2. The second living creature says "Come"
 3. John sees a fiery red horse and its rider
 a. The rider was granted to take peace from the earth
and for
 people to kill one another
 b. A great sword was given to him
 
 C. THIRD SEAL - RIDER ON THE BLACK HORSE (5-6)
 1. The Lamb opens the third seal
 2. The third living creature says "Come"
 3. John sees a black horse and its rider
 a. A pair of scales is in the hand of the rider
 b. A voice in the midst of the four living creatures says "A 
 quart of wheat for a denarius
and three quarts of barley
 for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
 
 D. FOURTH SEAL - RIDER ON THE PALE HORSE (7-8)
 1. The Lamb opens the fourth seal
 2. The fourth living creature says "Come"
 3. John sees a pale horse and its rider
 a. On the horse sits Death
and Hades followed with him
 b. Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth
 c. Power to kill with the sword
with death
and by beasts
 
II. THE SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR (9-11)
 
 A. THE FIFTH SEAL - SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR (9-10)
 1. The Lamb opens the fifth seal
 2. John sees under the altar those who had been slain
 a. For the word of God
 b. For the testimony they held
 3. They cried with a loud voice:
 a. "How long
O Lord
holy and true"
 b. "Until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on
 the earth?"
 
 B. THEIR CONSOLATION (11)
 1. A white robe was given to each of them
 2. They were told to rest a little while longer
until both their
 fellow servants and brethren would be killed
 
III. COSMIC DISRUPTIONS IN THE DAY OF THE LAMB'S WRATH (12-17)
 
 A. THE SIXTH SEAL - COSMIC DISRUPTIONS (12-14)
 1. The Lamb opens the sixth seal
 2. Cataclysmic events occur:
 a. A great earthquake
 b. Sun becomes black as sackcloth of hair
 c. Moon became like blood
 d. Stars fall to the earth
like ripe figs shaken from a tree
 by a mighty wind
 e. Sky receded as a scroll when rolled up
 f. Every mountain and island moved out of its place
 
 B. THE REACTION OF MANKIND (15-17)
 1. Great and small
slave and free
hid themselves in the caves
 and rocks of the mountains
 2. They cry out to the mountains and rocks:
 a. "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on
 the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!"
 b. "For the great day of His wrath has come
and who is able
 to stand?"
 
REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER
 
1) What are the main points of this chapter?
 - The four horses and their riders (1-8)
 - The souls under the altar (9-11)
 - Cosmic disruptions in the day of the Lamb's wrath (12-17)
 
2) Who opens each of the seals in this chapter? (1
3
5
7
9
12)
 - The Lamb
 
3) What is seen when the first seal is opened? What was given to him?
 (1-2)
 - A rider with a bow on a white horse
 - A crown
who then goes forth conquering
 
4) What is seen when the second seal is opened? What was given to him?
 (3-4)
 - A rider on a red horse
 - Authority to take peace from the earth
that people should kill
 one another
 - A great sword
 
5) What is seen when the third seal is opened? What is heard? (5-6)
 - A rider with a pair of scales in his hand on a black horse
 - "A quart of wheat for a denarius
and three quarts of barley for a
 denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
 
6) What is seen when the fourth seal is opened? What was given to 
 them? (7-8)
 - Death riding on a pale horse
followed by Hades
 - Power over a fourth of the earth
to kill with the sword
with
 hunger
with death
and by the beasts of the earth
 
7) What is seen when the fifth seal is opened? What are they saying?
 (9-10)
 - Souls under the altar who had been slain for the word of God and
 for their testimony
 - "How long
O Lord
holy and true
until You judge and avenge our
 blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
 
8) How are they consoled? (11)
 - A white robe to each of them
 - Told to rest a little while longer
until the number of their 
 fellow servants and brethren who will be killed was completed
 
9) What is seen when the sixth seal is completed? (12-14)
 - A great earthquake
sun becomes black
the moon becomes like 
 blood
the stars of heaven fall to the earth
the sky is receded
 as a scroll
every mountain and island moved out of their
 
10) What do the people on earth try to do? What do they say? (15-17)
 - Hide themselves in the caves and rocks of the mountains
 - "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the
 throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!"
 - "For the great day of His wrath has come
and who is able to 
 stand?"

－－《Executable Outlines》

Open six seals

Hide in caves

Hide from the wrath of the Lamb

I. The first and second seals

1. The living creature says “Come”

2. The heresy of the white horse

3. The fight of the red horse

II.The third and fourth seals

1. The living creature says “Come”

2. The famine of the black horse

3. The death of the pale horse

III. The fifth and sixth seals

1. Slain because of the word

2. Call out in a loud voice

3. Shake of heaven and earth

── Chih-Hsin Chang《an Outline of The New Testament》