The Seals

Revelation Chapter Six

The Seals

Revelation 6:1-2

            I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 
            I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

The rider of this white horse is not Jesus; it is Satan. He has come for conquest. But different from The Rider in chapter 19, this rider has no weapons. Notice he has a bow but no arrows. He comes to deceive and take captives. However, the rider of Chapter 19, Jesus, will come to end the conflict. He is armed with a sword which will strike down those who stand against him.

Throughout the book of Revelation Satan tries to deceive the masses by emulating Jesus. He is cheap copy at best and will fall to the hand of the Almighty.

Revelation 6:3-4

            When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living   creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. The rider of the red horse has the power to slay men. He has a large sword. This is the wrath of God that is poured out on those who have not followed Jesus. This rider is given the power to “make” men slay each other. In other words, there will be wars that will be wide spread because of the disobedience of mankind. This does not mean constant war necessarily, but there will be no peace in the entire earth. Multiply what is going on today by 1,000 and it will give you the sense of discomfort the world will be under every day.

Revelation 6:5-6

            When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

There will be a great famine on the Earth. The famine will not be concentrated in one part of the Earth, it will be across the whole Earth. No country will be exempt from this time of famine. 

Revelation 6:7-8

            When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The transliteration of the word pale in the Greek is “chlōros.” This word is translated “yellowish pale,” but a better translation is “Green.” It has been said that translators do not translate the word as green because there is no such thing as a green horse. However, the word horse in the book of Revelation is a symbol for power. Therefore, it could be, and most probably is, that the colors of the horses denote symbolism more than an actual color of a horse. Therefore, the horses are not common horses. Rather, they are symbols of what will be unleashed on the Earth. I do not believe it is coincidence that the color for Islam is “green.” Perhaps, John is warning us of the calamity that will befall the Earth at the hands of Muslims.

It should also be noted that death will come through disease of animals as well. This would make sense because the calamity of war claims many victims, including those of animals that would lay to waste on the ground without being buried, thus spreading disease.

Revelation 6:9-11

            When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

             

I believe this is not speaking about the saints in heaven before and because of the rapture. I believe this is referring to those Christians who were killed during the Tribulation because of their refusal to deny Christ. This gains better legs by putting it into context with verse 11 when they are told to wait “until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.”

Revelation 6:12-14

            I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was   removed from its place.

This denotes the great natural disasters that will occur from the wrath of God. This will be a time of disasters unparalleled in history. God will pour out on the people of the Earth his wrath. But he does not do this out of anger, but out of love. He wants those who have not accepted him to know what awaits them for eternity.

2 Peter 3:9

            The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 

 Revelation 6:15-17

            Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “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 their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

This is an excellent example of the foolishness of man. Instead of calling out to God, they pray to the rocks and mountains to help to hide them from God. Of course, the rocks and the mountains are ruled only by God. If they would but turn to God, he would forgive them and save them for all eternity. However, the deception of the Devil blinds their eyes.

The Scroll Of The Lamb

Revelation Chapter Five

The Scroll and The Lamb

Revelation is a book to show the majesty of God.

It is a book that is about three things:

1.       Preparation

2.       Prophecy

3.       Power

The First Three Chapters Are For Preparation.

                 They prepare us for the way that we should live. They are to keep us ever vigilant. If you were to go back to Matt 24 & 25 and remove them and place them right after chapter Three of Revelation they fit very nicely. They are preparing us for what we are to do for God in the time that he has given to us here on earth.

The Book Of Revelation Is For Prophecy.

• It is to prophesy of things to come.
• It is to get us ready and inform us that these things will come to pass.
• We should take our work seriously.

Third It Shows Us The Power.

• It shows us the power of God.
• It shows the power of Jesus Christ.
• It shows us the power of the Holy Spirit

Chapter Four shows the power of God

• It shows his throne room
• It shows that He is all powerful.
• It shows that He is far above any other king or god.
• He is the creator and the compassionate God that has given us eternal life in Jesus.

Chapter Five Shows Us The Power Of Jesus

Revelation 5:1-5

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

It Shows Us The Power Of The Lamb

Revelation 5:6-10

      Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 

      And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 

      And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

It Shows The Power Of His Sacrifice For Us. 

It Shows That He Alone Is Worthy

Revelation 5:11-14

      Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  

      In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,  to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and   glory and praise!”

      Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!”

      The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

He does not prostrate Himself to the Father, as do the creatures and the elders.

                  He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power.

He is The Creator

Colossians 1:15-20

  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

John 1:1-5 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

No Matter What It Looks Like In The World God Is In Control

•  Jesus is all powerful.
• He is not surprised by what is going on in the world
• However, he does not expect us to remain silent. He has given us a voice.
• Historically it has been only one crying in the wilderness while others sit back.
• But we have the power of God within us to cry out against injustice.
• God has given us a voice through the freedoms we enjoy in this country. But if we do not begin to use that voice we will be shut down.
• Jesus will bring us through this if we have faith in him.
• He will make us grow during this time of struggle if we will only trust him.  

The Throne in Heaven

Revelation Chapter Four

The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1

      After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

   

1 Thessalonians 4:16

      For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

 

Revelation 4:2-3

      At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 

God is Light

1 John 1:5-7

      This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

God appears as a brilliant light – Jasper and Carnelian (Sardius in some translations) is somewhat uncertain. Modern Jasper is opaque and many interpret the ancient stone as translucent crystal, possibly a diamond. The emerald is usually depicted as green, but otherwise it is colorless which would create a prism of colors in the light and have the appearance of a rainbow. In ancient writings all three of these stones represented a place of honor.

Revelation 4:4-7

      Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 

      Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

These beings are purported as having the strength of the Lion, service of an ox, intelligence of a man and swiftness of an eagle. Ezekiel described the Cherubim like this:

Ezekiel 1:6-10 
 

. . . but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 

Some look at these priests of Revelation as the 24 priests of Aaron in 1 Chronicles 24:5 -  

“They divided them impartially by drawing lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.”

The priests of Aaron were an imperfect copy of the actual 24 in heaven. Some think that they may be symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel in the OT and 12 Apostles in the NT, Some say that the song that they sing in 5:9 would indicate that they were different from the people that were on earth. However, this holds no water because of the reference to elders indicating spiritual growth instead of a creation such as angels that do not appear to have the ability to grow spiritually. It appears as the wording may just be a literary form of writing or all inclusive.

God is worthy of our Worship

The most important thing of this passage is to show that God is worthy of our worship and all powerful. Creation is not worthy of worship in any form or fashion. We have no control over our destiny or our being.

Two reasons to worship God

Revelation 4:8-9

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,

Revelation 4:10-11

The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”