Revelation - Insights

Often, people don’t realize that most of the symbols and signs used in Revelation are found throughout the rest of the Bible. The following is a summary of Chapter 6. I chose this chapter because at this particular time in John’s vision, Christ has been shown worthy to open the seals and the seals represent events that have either occurred or will occur.

Jesus foretold these events in Matthew 24:7-8: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Chapter 6 of Revelation takes us through the so-called 4 horses of the apocalypse and the opening of 6 of the seals. The 7^th seal is not opened until Chapter 8 because John explains in Chapter 7 what is happening to God’s people and essentially answering the question at the end of Chapter 6, “Who shall be able to stand?”

The first horse John sees is the white horse. “And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” Rev. 6:2 In the Bible, the color white always represents Christ’s righteousness. And this brings us to my favorite verse in the entire Bible, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” Rev. 19:11 John saw Jesus as He returns, sitting on a white horse. He will not come the second time as a lowly baby in a manger. He will come as a conquering king. When the disciples at last realized what was happening, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit led to a vast spreading of the gospel in the early church. It is estimated that 5 million people were led to Jesus at the end of the first century. This first seal represents the period of history from 31-100 AD.

“Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.” This second seal represents the great persecution of the followers of Christ during the period from 100 – 313 AD. The last ten years were particularly bad during the rule of the Roman Empire.

“…So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard 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 the wine.” Rev. 5-6

Today, a denarius would buy about 24 quarts of barley. In Bible times, wheat was much more expensive. If one had a family, they could only afford barley. Add to that, the persecution and unrest of the times, it was tough to even have enough to eat. However, with the phrase, “do not harm the oil and the wine,” God is saying that during these hard times (even today), those who believe will have the wine (representing the grace of God, and the oil, representing the Holy Spirit. This is very symbolic language in than the roots of olive trees and grapevines are much deeper than wheat or barley. They are more resistant to famine. This period of time represents 313 – 538 AD which is the beginning of the Dark Ages.

“So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.” Rev 6:8 The black horse represented a lack of light. Under the papacy rule, the Bible was taken away from the people because they were thought too dumb to understand it. The pale horse represents death. Not coincidentally, the fourth of the earth spoken of was the territory that was held by the Roman papacy. Millions died and were martyred for their faith during this period in history from 538 – 1517 AD. It is estimated that the world’s population in 1300 was around 360 million. Epidemics such as the bubonic plague, Black Death, killed 25 million people during the years between 1347 and 1352 AD. 1517 AD marked the beginning the Reformation.

The fifth seal was opened and John saw the martyrs who had died for Christ, crying out under the altar. Before the death of Jesus on the cross, people would bring lambs to sacrifice on the altar and the priest would sprinkle the blood under the alter. This imagery is similar to when Cain killed Abel and God says in Gen. 4:10, “…What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”

These martyrs are given white robes (symbols of Christ’s righteous) and told that “…they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” Rev. 6:11 In other words, it wasn’t time for the resurrection yet. “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” John 5:28-29

When Christ opens the sixth seal, “…there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders,the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and 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 His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” Rev. 6:12-17

The sixth seal represents a period of time which started in the mid-1700s and continues until Jesus returns. It is at this point that my belief sort of parts ways with the Saturday Adventists. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m strong in my faith and I believe most of the doctrines taught by my church because they are Bible-based. I can back them up with what I read in the Bible. Here’s what they believe to be true about the period during the opening of the 6^th seal:

The earthquake is mentioned first in John’s vision and there was a terrible one that occurred in 1755 referred to as the Lisbon Earthquake. Its brunt was felt in Spain and Portugal. Tops of mountains were shaken open. A giant tidal wave was said to have been 50 feet high. 60 thousand people died.

John then mentions that the sun will become black. This happened on May 19, 1780 in New England. Children hurriedly ran home from school. Shops closed down. Even bats were seen flying around.

The next part of John’s vision is the moon becoming like blood. In her book, The Great Controversy, Ellen White says this, “Though at 9:00 that night the moon rose to the full, ‘it had not the least effect to dispel the deathlike shadows.’ After midnight the darkness disappeared, and the moon, when first visible, had the appearance of blood.”

The last part of John’s vision is the stars of heaven falling. On November 12, 1833, again in New England, there was a meteor shower of unprecedented display. A quote from R.M. Devens in American Progress or The Great Events of the Greatest Century: “Never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth; east, west, north, and south, it was the same. In a word, the whole heavens seemed in motion.”

Although these events involving the 6th seal indeed lead one to wonder if prophecy has been fulfilled, I have my doubts. They leave one to ask, “Is that all there is?” I don’t think so. I think there is a possibility that these prophecies are yet to come and on a much larger scale than just in New England, Spain and Portugal. After all, this is the second coming of Jesus we’re talking about. It is going to affect the whole earth, not just portions of it.

When the 7^th seal is opened, the Bible says there is total silence of about ½ hour in heaven. The reason is that Christ and ALL the angels are gone – they are on their way to earth. Isn’t it possible that the 6^th seal will be opened right before His return?

If it is, the WHOLE earth will quake and the heavens will shake! Believe me, we will know when Jesus, the King of Kings returns! There is no such thing as a "secret rapture."

^"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1 10-12

The Holy Bible - New King James Version

Revelation Pure and Simple by Kenneth Cox, 3ABN Books