Revelation chapter 6 – Beginning of the End

Summary of Revelation chapters 4 and 5

John is taken up to Heaven and finds himself before the throne of God. He witnesses the hosts of Heaven worship God – sing praises, bow down, and cast crowns before the throne. John sees a scroll in the right hand of God that is sealed with seven seals. No one throughout creation was worthy of breaking the seals to open the scroll except one. John identifies him as the Lamb who was slain. Revelation 5:9-10 provides clues as to who the Lamb is. Who is he? Jesus. Notice the hosts of heaven worship Him by singing a new song, not an old song. The Lamb takes the scroll from the right hand of God and in chapter 6 he proceeds to break the seals.

Revelation chapter 6:1-8

1. What did John see after the opening of each of the first four seals and what were each given authority to do? Four horsemen.

A) Rider of the white horse. He had a bow (weapon) and was given a crown (political authority.) He was given authority to conquer. White horse associated with royalty. The rider is someone who has political authority and will seek to expand his rule through conquest. More on who this rider might be in a moment.

B) Rider of the red horse – Greek word for “red” – having the color of fire. Red color could also represent blood. The rider was given a great sword (Greek word Machaira similar to Spanish/English word “machete”). He was permitted to encourage war among the peoples of the earth.

C) Rider of the black horse – He held a pair of scales in his hand. The words that were spoken essentially mean that staple foods made of wheat and barley will become scarce. The rider represents economic instability and famine. As essential foods such as bread become scarce they increase in price. Inflation runs rampant. Denarius was worth a day’s wages. It will cost two days wages to purchase a quart of wheat (which is enough to feed one person) and three quarts of barley (less nutritious and was enough to feed a small family.) Notice that the rider of the black horse was not given authority to damage wine and oil. Only the wealthy could afford those. While the lower economic classes are suffering, the wealthy are doing fine. The poor resent the wealthy. The recipe for class warfare which will add to the growing chaos leading to the end times.

D) Rider of the pale horse – Greek word for “pale” is chloros, a yellowish pale color. The rider’s name was Death and Hades (the grave, the abode of the dead) followed after him. It makes sense that the rider of the pale horse would be last, why? Riders of the red horse and black horse bringing death to the world. Death and Hades was given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword (red horse) and famine (black horse); pestilence (disease which often occurs during war and famine - malnutrition) and wild beasts.
Revelation chapter 6:12-17

2. What happens on earth after the sixth seal is opened? Natural disasters – massive earthquakes that moves mountains and islands, sun turns black and moon turns red perhaps due to volcanic eruptions, stars (meteorites) fall from the sky.

3. How do people react to what’s happening? There is great fear and anxiety.

The Four Horsemen and the natural disasters are the prologue to the End. They are setting the stage for the End. These catastrophic events (war, famine, disease, natural disasters) will provide an opportunity for a certain someone to attain greater political power. He will take advantage of people’s fears and anxieties in order to conquer. He will present himself to the world as a man of strength, courage, boldness, and great vision. As the world is seemingly falling apart, this man will come forth figuratively as a hero riding a white horse to save the day to restore order out of chaos. The world will see this man as their savior. He will regard himself as a god to be worshiped. He is the rider of the white horse – the Antichrist.

There is disagreement within Christianity over who the rider of the white horse is. Some say he is the Antichrist which is the interpretation I accept and I will explain why in a moment. Others say the ride of the white horse is Jesus. Their reasoning is based on Revelation chapter 19 where Jesus returns to earth on a white horse conquering evil. However, the description of the rider of the white horse in Revelation 6 differs from that of Revelation 19.

The reason I believe the rider of the white horse is the Antichrist has to do with a common pattern in history. If you look to the past to see how dictators from Julius Caesar to Adolf Hitler came to power it often came about at a time of great anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. The people were looking for someone, anyone to restore order and stability and these men succeeded in doing so. The people were willing to give up their rights and freedoms in exchange for economic and political stability. Men like Caesar, Hitler, and Mussolini were successful in restoring order out of chaos and consequently people hailed them as saviors. Talk about Germany during the 1930’s. Same is true in democracies. A president that is in power during an economic recession and high unemployment is replaced by the public with someone who promises to restore economic order. Ex. FDR, Reagan, Clinton, Obama. My opinion is that the Antichrist will present himself as the world’s savior and the world will accept him as such. They will willingly give him the authority he needs to save the planet from the abyss.

Revelation chapter 6:9-11

4. What did John see and hear after the opening of the fifth seal? An altar and underneath it were the souls of those who had been slain for obeying the word of God and for being witnesses of the Gospel. They were martyrs. What is done on an altar? Sacrifices are offered to God. Blood is shed. These souls sacrificed their lives/shed their blood for God. What did they cry out to God for? Vengeance. How long before God will pour out His wrath upon sinners for the transgressions they have committed against His people? How much longer will the martyrs have to wait before God will carry out His judgment? Who are these people? Abel to Stephen to Christians today who have had their life taken for daring to be a follower of Jesus. What was the response to their cry? A) given a white robe (righteousness) B) Told to rest a little while longer …. Be patient. The time for God’s final judgment is drawing near.

These verses contain a reason why God is doing what He is doing in the Book of Revelation. It also explains why much of Revelation is so dark and dismal. God is passing final judgment upon the earth. He is pouring out wrath upon the earth that has been building up since the Flood. For millennia, God’s people have been waiting for this moment when He will exact final punishment upon all that is evil. Repeatedly through the Old Testament God says, “Vengeance is mine.” All who have harmed my people will experience my wrath. All who hear the Gospel of salvation and yet continue to pursue unrighteousness … who reject and mock the sacrifice of His Son … they will find themselves in the hands of an angry God. It will not be pretty.