In our study of Revelation chapter six, we witness God providing a sort of last chance for people to accept his son. We are told of the events that will occur when Yeshua begins the process of taking possession of all creation. John continues to tell us of what he saw in heaven including the four horsemen of the apocalypse. We should understand that, throughout the Bible, horses were only used for soldiers going to battle. They were not used for other work or transportation (Even Yeshua rode a donkey into Jerusalem.) This chapter describes the lamb (Yeshua Messiah) opening the seals on a scroll. This scroll is like the deed to a home in that it gives ownership to the one that is listed on the document. In this case, ownership was indicated by the fact that Yeshua was the only one that was worthy to open it.
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Next I watched as the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living beings say in a thundering voice, "Go!" I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse; its rider had a bow and was given a crown; and he rode off as a conqueror to conquer.
Yeshua opens the first seal and a rider on a white horse is revealed. Many read this passage and wrongly assume that this is Yeshua because of the crown and the white horse but it is not. This rider is the Antichrist and he is out to conquer the people of the world by deception. He is given power by Satan and a crown by the leaders of this world. Avoiding Satan's deception is one reason why it is so important to study the Bible.
When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, "Go!" Another horse went out, a red one; and its rider was given the power to take peace away from the earth and make people slaughter each other. He was given a great sword.
After the Antichrist has deceived the people with promises of peace and prosperity, the second horse is released. This horse is red as that is the color of blood and its rider is war. The false peace will break down and a huge war will break out between the men of the earth as described by the large sword.
When he broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, "Go!" I looked, and there in front of me was a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. Then I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living beings say, "Two pounds of wheat for a day's wages! Six pounds of barley for the same price! But don't damage the oil or the wine!"
The third seal is opened and another horseman is revealed. The horse is black which is the color of mourning and its rider is famine. It is interesting to note that, in our history, famine always follows war and if you look at where most of it is happening today it is in areas that have been ravaged by war. One of the four living creatures is calling out the prices for grain. The days wages refers to the wages that a soldier was paid for a days work. Although it may be hard for us to imagine, the cost of grain is so high that a man would have to work all day just for enough to feed himself. When Yeshua walked the earth, a day's wages would have bought about twenty four quarts of barley. Here, we are told that it only buys three and this tells us that the money (denarius) is worth only one eighth of what it was in Yeshua's day. This happens in many areas of the world even today but, with this rider, it will be a global famine. This horse can remind us to put our faith in Yeshua Messiah and not money because, as it says there will be a day when the value of the money is one eighth of what it was. The second thing the creature says "do not damage the oil and the wine" with the oil referring to the Spirit and the fact that the Holy Spirit will still be moving in the world. The wine speaks of joy and the fact that, for the believer, our joy is not affected by the world around us but is rooted in our relationship with God through Yeshua Messiah.
When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, "Go!" I looked, and there in front of me was a pallid, sickly-looking horse. Its rider's name was Death, and Sh'ol followed behind him. They were given authority to kill one-quarter of the world by war, by famine, by plagues and with the wild animals of the earth.
The final horse is released and it is pale (actually green in the original manuscripts) and its rider is Death. This is physical death and we are told that Hades was following. Hades refers to spiritual death (separation from God). He was given power to kill over a fourth of the earth. And so these first four seals have released what is commonly called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with the final one being Death.
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been put to death for proclaiming the Word of God, that is, for bearing witness. They cried out in a loud voice, "Sovereign Ruler, HaKadosh, the True One, how long will it be before you judge the people living on earth and avenge our blood?" Each of them was given a white robe; and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow-servants should be reached, of their brothers who would be killed, just as they had been.
With the fifth seal, those that have been slain for their testimony about Yeshua Messiah are revealed to John as they are under the altar of the Lord. They cried out for justice and were told that they must wait until all who are chosen for that type of ministry are with them. The fact that some of God's people would be chosen to die for their faith may seem odd to many of us (especially those of us in the USA), but that is what is revealed with the opening of the fifth seal. With this seal, we see a big difference in where people go after death. In the previous passage, we saw that those who denied Christ went to Hades (Sheol in Hebrew) which is a holding place until the day of judgment. Here, we see that those who accept Christ go to be with God in heaven as they also await the coming day of judgment.
Then I watched as he broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, the sun turned black as sackcloth worn in mourning, and the full moon became blood-red. The stars fell from heaven to earth just as a fig tree drops its figs when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
As Yeshua opens the sixth seal, the heavens and the earth are now affected. We can understand things such as the earthquake and the sun turning black like from an eclipse but the rest of the description is hard to imagine. We first encounter these things in Joel chapter 2 and they announce the coming of the wrath of God and the last opportunity to call upon the Lord and avoid the coming wrath. Finally, the sky recedes and mountains are brought low. Although this sounds strange to us, we must assume that the Creator of the heavens and the earth has the power to do this as well.
Then the earth's kings, the rulers, the generals, the rich and the mighty - indeed, everyone, slave and free - hid himself in caves and among the rocks in the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the One sitting on the throne and from the fury of the Lamb! For the Great Day of their fury has come, and who can stand?"
After the sixth seal and the events that took place, all of the people of the earth are terrified. This passage lists the different types of people and their titles to allow us to see that, when we reach this point in time, the only position or title that matters is that of Christian. Things are so bad at this point that the people are begging to be crushed by rocks and mountains. The answer to the question "who can stand?" is only those who stand in Christ and they will not fear the coming wrath.
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