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| Chapter 6 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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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 living beings saying, "Come and see!" 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. 3 ¶ And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second living being say, "Come and see!" 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, that they should kill one another; and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third living being 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. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living beings 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!" 7 And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, "Come and see!" 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 a fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. 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. 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?" 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 fellow servants and also their brethren, who were to be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 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; 13 and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 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; 16 and they 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! 17 For the great Day of His wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?" |
We are brought face to face with the judgements of God as He begins to pour them out on to a world which has rejected Jesus Christ. No identity is connected to the riders and horses, so they must apply to general situations. The First Seal. v1 The seals on the book now begins to be open by the glorified Christ. They are in two groups, one to four and five to seven. As the first seal is opened John hears one of the four living beings call him to "Come and see!" this is to be repeated at the first four seals being opened. v2 The contents of the book are not read but become actions and events. John sees a white horse with a rider, some have said this is Christ but He is in heaven opening the seals, this is one who appears to be Christ, the AntiChrist. The rider of this white horse will be a world leader, but under the control of Satan. He will be able to deceive the world because he will have all the answers to the worlds problems, they may even think he is the ‘Christ.’ Another white horse appears in Rev 19:11, this appears at the end of the tribulation seven years after this first white horse. This first white horse will bring a short period of peace, the bow has no arrows, he wears a crown and will conquer, but famine and death will follow. After he has been accepted by the world as their leader he will demand anything and everything from a follower. The Second Seal. v3,4 The second seal releases a red horse and rider, this rider is given the power to take away the peace. We must remember that today some control on wars is made by the presence of the Christian, the salt of the earth, Matt 5:13 but they will have been removed at the rapture. The evil heart of Man will be free to do what it wants. The Third Seal. v5,6 A black horse and rider shows power to affect the food, he has a pair of balances. One of the four living beings tells John that "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny," in those days one persons food will cost a days wage. It will be difficult for the working class to have enough food. The black horse is commanded not to touch the "the oil and the wine!" which represent the luxuries of the rich. The Fourth Seal. v7,8 A Pale horse is released, the colour of a dead body. The rider has a name, "Death," with a companion "Hell" This rider has been given power over a quarter of the earth using the familiar weapons of ‘sword’ (or any weapon of war), famine, pestilence(a fatal epidemic disease) and wild beasts. Death and hell are only concerned with the ungodly and later at the close of the millennium, or the thousand years reign under Jesus, death and hell give up these kept there and then are destroyed in the lake of fire. Rev 20:11-15. As we move onto the second group of seals we see a different in the opening of the seals, no involvement of the living beings neither do we see horses and riders. The Fifth Seal. This seal reveals the persecution of those who have accepted the truth of God. These must be people who had heard the message of salvation before the Rapture but had not accepted Jesus as their Saviour. They were left behind, now they had committed themselves to Christ but have had to go through the terror of the tribulation. The Holy Spirit is not present on the earth, He was withdrawn with the Church at the rapture. He must be working from heaven somehow responding to those who are seeking God. These slain souls are under the altar, a place of sacrifice, killed for the Word of God and their witness for Jesus Christ. These souls will obviously be resurrected later at the close of the tribulation. Some may question whether a soul without a body can speak and is conscious. Jesus in Luke 16:24 shows that this is definitely the case, a soul, either in heaven or hell will have a memory and feelings. v10,11 Why were they crying "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Today God is Grace but during this period He will have moved onto Judgement, He is still seeking lost souls, but this time is rapidly ending. The souls under the altar are told to rest until the Grace period is ended. The Sixth Seal. v12-17 On opening this seal God is starting to judge the world. God is starting to reveal His power as the earth and surrounding area of space suffer physical changes. We all know the effect of earthquakes on the earth and how small meteors can cause deep holes. Scientist over the last few years have been concerned about a large meteor hitting the earth. What we know of these effects is nothing to what God will do at this point. No wonder all men, of all positions of authority, were so scared that they hid. They are realizing that God is the cause of their problems, yet they still only want to hid and not seek forgiveness. It is so easy today to find acceptance by the Lamb of God, in this chapter we see what will happen when this time of Grace ends and the Lamb of God rejects Man. |
Easy English Translation
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