REVELATION 6: OPENING THE SEALS

The opening of the seals, from a historical view of prophecy, covers approximately the same period of time as that of the messages to the seven churches. The seals describe successive periods or events from John’s day down through time to the coming of the Lord.


As we allow Scripture to interpret its own symbols, and with the understanding that the book Christ received from His Father described in Revelation 5 concerns the destiny of man, we learn that the loosening of the seals maybe describing events prevailing on the earth over the last century and a half to our own day. These seals serve as warning signs of the nearness of the end, that soon all who have lived will be found either in the Lamb’s book of life or the records of heaven, based on their choices and actions will testify against them. The destiny of men found in the book will be settled for all eternity by the time the sixth seal is completely removed.

Revelation 6:1

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 beasts saying, Come and see.

As Jesus opens the seals, one of the four living creatures speaks as with the noise of thunder, saying, “Come and see.” To John’s vision is revealed the four horseman of the Apocalypse. Who are these riders and horses, and what do they represent?

Revelation 6:2

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.

“Horse”

We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. (Jeremiah 8:15–16)

Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. (Jeremiah 46:9)

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands. (Jeremiah 47:2–3. Babylon comes in judgment as an overwhelming flood and with horses.)

They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. (Jeremiah 50:42)

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. (Zechariah 6:1–6)

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt (Revelation 9:17–19. Horses bring destruction and plagues.)

Present Application

The Bible identifies horses as symbols or instruments of punishment and judgment against the rebellious. They are often used in warfare. Zechariah’s vision, though having similarities and differences to the vision in Revelation 6, gives us insight into what these symbols may be trying to tell us.

Zechariah sees horses of a symbolic nature similar to those of Revelation, though without riders. Since Revelation draws much of its imagery from the Old Testament, we can draw lessons from when horses were used to describe times of turmoil and judgment upon the rebellious.

The horses in Zechariah’s vision are said to walk to and fro through the earth. They are called spirits, (or winds, KJV marginal reading) which stand before the Lord of all the earth. (See Zechariah 6:5.) These four horsemen, and the seals in general, have several lessons to teach us.

First, they parallel the messages of the seven churches in time and speak to the conditions prevailing in the church throughout history.

Second, they speak of events transpiring on the earth since the time of the message to the Philadelphia and Laodicean churches, leading to the second coming of Christ.

Third, the four horsemen provide a glimpse of the unleashing of the four winds of strife that angels are seen (in Revelation 7) to be holding back until everyone who fears and loves God is sealed in his or her forehead. Even now we can see the riders unleashing their destruction, though God’s mercy tempers these judgments.

“Had a bow”

Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. (Psalm 7:9–13)

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. (Psalm 64:7. God’s wrath is like arrows against the wicked.)

The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about. He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. (Lamentations 2:2–4. God bends His bow to punish the wicked.)

The use of the bow indicates strength and power. It was used in warfare and as a symbol of an instrument of judgment.

The Historical Fulfillment

We see the white horse of purity and truth riding forth, representing the early apostolic church. The truth of God’s Word like arrows of conviction coming from the bow spoke to the hearts of the people. Thus Paul could say, “Continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister” (Colossians 1:23).

Present Application

Since 1798, and the rise of the last two churches (Philadelphia and Laodicea), Christianity and biblical truth have shone upon the world in greater intensity than in ages past. Though darkness and religious confusion have also increased, even in times of spiritual darkness the light and purity of God’s Word and the convicting work of the Spirit are conquering powers. For we read, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

Now, in these days of judgment mixed with mercy, the arrows of God’s judgments are coming to “put them [mankind] in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men” (Psalm 9:20). Soon the arrows shall be the unmixed wrath of the Lamb against the wicked who have spurned the light of truth. “For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative” (Romans 1:18 AMP).

“And a crown”

And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land (Zechariah 9:16. The remnant who are saved are as stones of a crown.)

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)

In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people. (Isaiah 28:5)

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. (1 Peter 5:4)

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. (Revelation 19:12. The crown is a symbol of Christ’s kingly authority.)

The Historical Fulfillment

The crown represents the victory obtained by Christ and is a symbol of the reward of the faithful. Christ, as the Son of man, has conquered sin and death, and to Him is given a crown. Through the arrows of conviction brought by the word of truth in the power of the Holy Spirit, the early church, in the purity of the gospel, brought the offer of the crown of life to all who would hear. To those who were faithful, Christ has laid up a crown of life.

Present Application

The horsemen represent and parallel the words of Christ in Matthew 24 regarding war, famine, pestilence, disease and spiritual deception. Though always with us, these catastrophes have grown more intense in these last days of earth’s history, to the degree that God’s light and truth have been despised. Yet Jesus also declared, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

Drawing a lesson from the historical application of the white horse, the first horseman represents the light of truth that has shone upon the world since the time of the end began. It represents the message of “the everlasting gospel” with the call to “fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth” Revelation 14:6–7).

Because of the rejection of heaven-sent light and truth, there is also much counterfeit religion, that may appear true. Jesus warned us of this in Matthew 24:4–5, 11, 24. Many religious movements an ideas may seem to come from God, appearing on the surface as bringing the force, power and truth, represented in the white horse. However all falsehood and deception wounds our religious experience, as does the injury or death inflicted by an arrow.

The rider on the white horse may as well represent the working and influence of “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:13). The deception and ruin depicted in the seals are God’s means to draw the attention of a rebellious world to the fact that the last days have come, judgment has commenced, and today is the day of salvation. The four horses are also a foretaste, though now limited by mercy, of the unleashing of the four winds of Revelation 7, when mercy no longer pleads for guilty man.

Revelation 6:3–4

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

And another horse came out, flaming red. And its rider was empowered to take the peace from the earth, so that men slaughtered one another; and he was given a huge sword. (Revelation 6:4 AMP)

“Another horse that was red”

For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. (Psalm 75:8)

It is his judgment, poured out upon the wicked of the earth. They must drain that cup to the dregs. (Psalm 75:8 TLB)

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. (Isaiah 63:1–6)

The Historical Fulfillment

The second horseman is a representation of the church in the age of persecution from about A.D. 100 until the rise of Constantine, emperor of Rome, who tried to unite church and state, thus bringing to an end the outward persecution. This seal approximates the time of the message to the church in Smyrna. As we learned in our study of the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2, there were those who claimed to be Jews (a symbol of believers) but who were liars and actually followed Satan.

As white symbolized the relative purity of the apostolic church, the red horse symbolizes the corrupting of the purity of the gospel, for so Paul warned the early church: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:28–30).

Present Application

Since the time of the end in 1798, when the 1,260-year prophecy of Daniel 7 and Revelation 11–13 came to an end, great light has shone upon the world. Because it has been largely rejected, we have seen an increase in war and murder and bloodshed throughout the world. Though the seals are depicted as being removed by Christ, the red sword of bloodshed as well as the remaining two horsemen, come as the result of the rejection of the light, truth and grace of God. As the truth of Christ and the everlasting gospel represented in the first horseman has been despised, neglected and perverted, the inhabitants of this globe are drinking the cup of woe. Soon it shall be drunk unmixed with mercy, as the wicked unrestrained by God’s Spirit destroy one another. A depiction of this terrible period can be seen in Revelation 9.

“Power to take peace from the earth”

There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. (Isaiah 48:22)

But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. (Isaiah 57:20–21)

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. (Isaiah 32:17)

Present Application

The power of this horse and rider to take peace from the earth is in proportion to the rejection of the peace of God and the principles of righteousness by nations and individuals. While applicable to the persecution directed at the church in varying degrees from A.D. 100 to 313, the second horseman teaches us a lesson here in the early twenty-first century.

Mankind’s use of his power to kill, maim, and destroy was especially manifested in the twentieth century, which may very well be be the bloodiest on record. The heart of man is perhaps no worse than in any other age. Or is it? As the light of God’s truth shone forth from the sixteenth-century Reformation and onward, and the present end-time warning message of Revelation 14, mankind has, to an increasing degree, rejected God’s truth. This degradation of man’s character is the reason Jesus told us before His coming, “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet” (Mark 13:7).

These seals not only speak of events transpiring down through the ages, they also speak to those of us living in the time of the end of events transpiring now on a regular basis, as beacons of warning leading to the culmination of all things. Today there are great calls for peace and harmony among nations, religions, and ethnic groups. In the future, just before Christ comes, this unifying movement will culminate in some form of world control. Yet the Word of God is clear: because of the rejection of truth by mankind, “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). This waxing worse and worse is why the red horse has power to take peace from the earth.

For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices. But the wisdom that is from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering and insincerity). (James 3:16–17 AMP)

As we can see from these verses in James, the red horse carries forward its work of bloodshed and war and persecution, both in the past and presently, because of the rejection of heaven’s principles.

“A great sword”

Sword—figurative, war, judicial punishment; derived from a battle, controversy1

The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs. (Deuteronomy 32:25)

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses. (Nahum 3:3)

And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:21)

Present Application

The red horse represents war and bloodshed, which are rampant throughout the earth. This condition is caused by an increase of iniquity as the love of many waxes cold. Since the commencement of the time of the end, with knowledge increasing, the destructive genius of man inspired by Satan has truly unleashed a great sword upon the earth these last two hundred-plus years.

Soon the red wine of God’s wrath, drunk for us by Christ in Gethsemane and at Calvary, will be given into the hands of the wicked to drink, unmixed with mercy.

There is today no peace on earth. The justifying peace of Christ is little known. Few are spiritually minded. Hence, people are killing one another by words and by blows, and in acts of war and violence. The sword of war is abroad in the land, and mankind is reaping the fruit of his iniquity. But when the four winds are let loose, a scene of war and bloodshed will develop such that no pen can can describe.

Revelation 6:5

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 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.

“And I beheld, and lo a black horse”

My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever. My harp is turned to mourning and my flute to the voice of those who weep. (Job 30:30–31 NKJV)

For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it (Jeremiah 4:28. Heavens above are black, as drought and judgment rests upon the land.)

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up (Jeremiah 14:1–2. People are black, meaning in mourning, dressed in sackcloth and sitting on the ground.)

She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness (Nahum 2:10. Faces gather blackness as judgment poured out.)

Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. (Joel 2:6. Before the armies of God’s judgment, people’s faces gather blackness.)

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. (Proverbs 4:19)

The Historical Fulfillment

This horse represents the time period that parallels that of the message to the church of Pergamos (beginning in Revelation 2:12). It is approximately the time from Constantine’s nominal conversion to Christianity in 323 to the establishment of the great church-state structure of the papacy in 538. This was a period of increasing darkness, when many facets of paganism were adopted as doctrines of the church, which led to the rise of the great harlot church of Bible prophecy found in Revelation 17.

Present Application

Black is representative of sin, death, and evil, and of the judgment and mourning brought about as a result of sin and rebellion. This horse brings forth famine and punishment for wickedness and rebellion against God. Thus it is in our world today, an age of great technological and scientific progress, but an age in which the light of advancement is eclipsed by the growing darkness of men’s hearts. Because of mankind’s love of darkness, error, and sin, judgments upon the planet are increasingly bringing the blackness of despair to millions.

“He that sat on him had a pair of balances”

Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. (Job 31:6)

Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity (Psalm 62:9. Our trust and confidence in man is weighed in a balance and found to be vain.)

They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. (Isaiah 46:6)

Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. (Daniel 5:27. The character of the king was weighed and found wanting and devoid of any virtue.)

The Historical Fulfillment

This was a time when the balances representing right and justice became the unjust relationship that results from the coming together of church and state. This began in the days of Constantine and was developed further by the Roman church. This period was the time of a great falling away from biblical truth, as paganism conquered much of Christianity. The power and influence of pagan Rome steadily declined while the Roman church grew in influence.

Present Application

Balances were used to weigh out money; symbolically, God is represented as using balances to weigh character and the worth of men and nations. Balances are used to represent everything from unfounded trust in men to the worthlessness of this world and its system, to the deceit often practiced in trade.

The balances in the rider’s hand weigh the character of individuals and nations, and without Christ we are found wanting. Today the black horse of famine and mourning is stalking the land, as the characters, motives, and purposes of men and nations are being weighed in the balances of heavenly judgment. Thus because so many are separating from God, the black horse seemingly is weighing up more and more of earths inhabitants as wanting, and thereby free to inflict his pain and sorrow.

Revelation 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts 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.

“A measure of wheat … measures of barley”

Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: that they may want bread and water, and be astonied [in dismay] one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. (Ezekiel 4:16–17. Food is measured out for scarcity.)

“A penny”

And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. (Matthew 20:2. A penny was a day’s wages.)

The Historical Fulfillment

Spiritual drought and want is depicted here. A measure of wheat (in Greek, choenix) was less than a quart or just under one liter, which was considered an inferior, insufficient ration for a soldier. In ordinary times, a penny or a day’s wages for a laborer would buy as much as twenty-four measures of barely, but now it is only three, the ration allotted to a slave. Barley was the food of the poorer classes. Limited rations of both wheat and barely now cost a denarius (or penny) a day.

A full day’s wages can barely sustain the worker, leaving nothing for his family and other needs. The situation depicted physically is an apt description of the spiritual condition at this time, as spiritual food that was cheap and inadequate for the needs of the soul was being given to the people. Tradition and the teachings of the bishops and priests were mixed with paganism. This is the time Paul spoke of as “a falling away” from biblical truth that gave rise to the political and religious system of the Roman church. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:7–12.)

The scarcity of wheat and barley, and the high price seen in Revelation 6:6, represents the rise of traditions and superstitions as the Word of God and its truth became scarce. Yet even in the midst of this falling away, God’s watch care was over the oil and the wine. There remained a remnant of faithful souls careful to maintain piety and faith in God. Upheld by the oil of the Holy Spirit and faithful to maintain biblical Christianity, this was the good woman or the church in the wilderness depicted in Revelation 12.

Present Application

In the end, when the four winds are let loose and the seven last plagues begin to fall, famine and the blackness of despair shall take hold of this world, the world having been weighed and found wanting. The balances are seen measuring out wheat and barely, which are costing the equivalent of a day’s wages, representing the difficulty and high cost of sustaining life, which today is experienced by hundreds of millions of earth’s inhabitants.

Rather than the world becoming better and more equitable, we find a rising global population, with billions struggling to survive and economic difficulty coming upon many classes. While the economic elite seek to manage the global economy, and constantly assure us that they are doing so successfully, a time is depicted in the black horse that will be one of great distress. This state of affairs will no doubt lead the world to adopt a global system of governance and religious conformity, led by the woman of Revelation 17, in conjunction with the two-horned beast of Revelation 13 and the merchant men and political leaders of the world.

As with The Historical Fulfillment, we find in this age of great enlightenment, spiritual darkness is increasing. Christianity grows in numbers and popularity yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the true practice of Bible centered faith and discipleship. Now, as in ancient times, God allows drought, famine, and economic difficulty to come upon nations. Yet we seem not to recognize the cause of our suffering—turning away from God and His truth and following the principles of the god of this world.

Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it. (Ezekiel 14:13)

“Hurt not”

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads (Revelation 9:4. Those who are sealed are not hurt by the judgment of the fifth trumpet.)

Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (Revelation 7:3)

“Hurt not the oil”

And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel (Exodus 27:20–21. The oil is what kept the lampstand ever burning. This lamp represents the light of the world—Jesus. His Word is a light as well. And it is only by the Spirit of God that the oil of grace can be in our hearts so that we can be full of light.)

Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.

And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. (Exodus 30:23–32. Holy oil was used to dedicate the priests and all things consecrated to God’s service. We as New Testament believers are called to be priests, and thus we are anointed to service by the Holy Spirit.)

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (Matthew 25:1–4. Wise virgins have oil in their vessels; the oil is the grace of the Spirit.)

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:13)

The Historical Fulfillment

In ancient times, oil was obtained from olives. It was used in the preparation of food, as fuel for lamps, and as ointment for treating sores and wounds. Olive oil was used for anointing the body. Because of olive oil’s many uses it was a symbol for prosperity. It was used to anoint items used in God’s service, and it was used to anoint those people who were set aside and called into God’s work.

Oil represents the Word of God. It also represents the character of Christ, manifested in the believer through His Holy Spirit. And it is represented as the oil of grace. In the historical fulfillment of prophecy, the oil that was not hurt represented that even in the midst of darkness and apostasy that developed as the church gained popularity and political influence, God’s Spirit would still be at work upon the hearts of a few faithful souls who upheld His truth.

Present Application

Today, this horse and others tell us of conditions prevailing in the world in light of the rejection of God’s truth. Yet there are a few faithful virgins with the light of God’s Word in their hearts, kept alive by the oil of grace. We need not be caste down by the darkness of sin, and the sorrow it is bringing upon the world, for Christ has promised He will sustain and guide us. We have the promise that the horses of Revelation 6 will not hurt the true children of God when unleashed in their full fury, represented in Revelation 7 as the winds of strife.

“Wine”

And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved (Luke 5:37. The new wine is the atoning work of Christ through His Spirit bringing the born-again experience, as individuals become a new creature, or a new wineskin, and is an emblem of the new inner spiritual life.)

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom (Matthew 26:27–29. The wine is a symbol of the atoning blood of Christ.)

The Historical Fulfillment

The time of the Pergamus church, which this horse and rider parallel, was a time when popularity with the world and the quest for material advantage seemed to bring blackness, or darkness, upon the religious world. God still had those who partook largely of His Spirit and who knew by a living experience the atoning work and grace of Christ, represented by the wine. Those with the oil and wine of a Christian experience maintained the truth of God in the midst of the blackness of compromise.

Present Application

Even in the midst of today’s great falling away from truth, God will have a people filled with the wine of a born again life and partaking largely of the wine of Christ’s atoning grace. Such ones are God’s faithful remnant in the midst of the compromise and intense worldliness gripping the world and the church, which tells us of the lateness of this world’s history.

Not only do the loosening of the seals speak to us of the history of the church from John’s day to the coming of Christ, these horses tell us of events to take place in the world from the time “the judgment was set, and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:10).

The events in the world today, represented by the opening of these seals and the horses moving to and fro through the earth, tell us of a judgment transpiring. That time is moving steadily closer to the last seal being removed, when time shall be no longer. Then Christ shall “come quickly; [declaring] … My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).

Revelation 6:7–8

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 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 the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

This seal depicts the time from the setting up of the religious political structure of the papacy in 538 to the early 1500s, when the Reformation began, paralleling the time of the church in Thyatira. As human traditions and superstitions became more prevalent and the church increasingly sought to influence, control, and use the state, so the condition of religion became pale and sickly, like a plant devoid of the sun and nutrients.

Thus the great state church, devoid of the true gospel, rather than bringing life, seemed more often than not to bring spiritual death and decay upon that part of the world under its dominion, represented in the next verse as the “fourth part of the earth.”

“Behold a pale horse”

Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? (Jeremiah 30:6. Faces turn pale during time of trouble.)

The paleness of this horse represents the sickliness of its influence and work upon mankind, bringing literal and spiritual death and sending many to the grave without hope and without God.

“Death and hell followed them”

Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? (Ezekiel 14:20–21. The judgment of sword, famine, death and beast came upon those who trespassed grievously.)

Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it. (Ezekiel 5:11–12, 17)

The Historical Fulfillment

The rider of the fourth horse is named Death, and hell or the grave followed him. As a result of the Roman church’s perverse rule, nations were void of spiritual and moral life. Europe was plunged into war and famine and disease. Approximately fifty million people were martyred for their faith by the church that claimed in vain the name of Christ. Some historians have estimated that as much as one quarter to one third of Europe’s population died during this time. This is the result when men call evil good and good evil and substitute darkness for light.

Present Application

The judgments of sword, hunger, death, and wild beasts still plague our planet and seem to be increasing. The beasts in our day most often come in the form of pests and viruses and plagues upon plant, animal, and man. They come largely as a consequence of rebellion and wickedness. Yet judgment is tempered with mercy, lest all mankind should perish.

These judgments are allowed by God to awaken mankind. Sadly, however, very few see the increasing problems of mankind as a direct result of disobedience to God. Rather, we look to science and technology to solve our problems, or to global governance and cooperation. The Bible reveals the reason for the four horsemen and what their work indicates. “For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9).

“Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: that men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth” (Psalm 83:16–18). The judgments of the four horsemen come as a result of the rejection of heaven’s light and truth. They are allowed by God so that men might see the folly of their ways and turn to the Lord, before they perish when it’s forever too late to repent.

Revelation 6:9

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.

The Historical Fulfillment

Toward the end of the dark era of church-state suppression, as Protestantism became well established and persecution had largely ceased, those who had lost their lives in faithful witness to Jesus are depicted in symbol as crying out for retribution. We see here faithful martyrs who have poured out their blood, slain by the hands of evil men, martyred because of their faithfulness to God and His truth. These individuals upheld the Word of God and witnessed faithfully for Christ.

“Under the altar”

And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Leviticus 4:7)

The souls here are symbolically represented as under the altar, which indicates that their deaths were a sacrifice for Christ. The altar of sacrifice in the courtyard of the Old Testament sanctuary, also represented the sacrificial offering of Jesus upon Calvary. As noted above, some of the blood of the sacrifice was poured out under or at the base of the altar. So these martyrs, faithful to uphold the Word of God, and faithful to bear their testimony, poured out their blood or lives in sacrifice for the truth and their unyielding love for God.

Revelation 6:10

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?

“Souls of them that were slain … cried with a loud voice”

And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. (Genesis 4:9–10)

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:24. The shed blood of Christ speaks of mercy.)

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)

These are not literal disembodied spirits; neither is it literal blood crying. This is symbolism, yet with a real meaning, for the blood shed or the life laid down for Christ speaks as a living testimony of the faithfulness and fidelity of the one who died. It speaks to the living that we might consider and learn from the faithfulness of others. Further, the unjust shedding of the blood of these individuals demands justice.

“How long, O Lord?”

O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?

They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. (Psalm 94:1–5; 73:16–17)

O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? (Psalm 74:10)

O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. (Habakkuk 1:2–4)

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (Daniel 8:13–14)

The cry, “How long, Lord, will thou suffer the wicked to prosper, and Thy truth and people to be cast down?” has been voiced since the days of Abel. Jesus answered this question in Daniel 8:14. At the end of the 2,300 prophetic days or literal years, the judgment would commence whose end would fully and finally vindicate the righteous works of God and the children of God, and destroy the wicked apostate powers of earth. (See Daniel 7:9–10, 26–27.)

“They cried with a loud voice”

Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14:7)

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. (Revelation 18:1–5)
 
“Avenge our blood”

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. (Revelation 16:3–6)

And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. (Revelation 18:19–21)

For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. (Revelation 19:2)

Present Application

The blood of Abel and of the faithful martyrs of all time cry out for restitution. The scene is symbolic rather than literal, as the righteous dead are yet sleeping in their graves, awaiting the voice of the Life Giver to call them forth. Yet justice cries out in the symbol, and Revelation reveals that indeed justice will be meted out.

In the historical understanding of prophecy, the fifth seal is a symbol of the many martyrs crying out toward the end of the 1,260 years of darkness. The sixth seal culminates in the coming of the Lord, which shows we are now living on the very edge of time. But before time is no more, a great crisis shall encircle the world as the mark of the beast is urged upon the people.

God’s final message in Revelation 14 and 18 goes forth as a loud cry to warn the inhabitants of the world, even as Noah gave to the world a last message of mercy. The punishment of those who have rejected the truth of God, who worship the beast and his image, and who receive his mark takes place with the pouring out of the plagues and the punishment of “Mystery Babylon.” Then the long-looked-for retribution upon the wicked and the vindication of God’s truth and of His saints will be made plain. Persecution of the saints of God will take place again. As the next verse indicates, there are yet martyrs to come.

Revelation 6:11

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 fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

“White robes were given unto every one of them”

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (Revelation 19:8)

Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3:4–5)

And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14)

Present Application

To the faithful martyrs of the ages, heaven testifies that their salvation is assured. We see white robes given them, a symbol of a victorious character made white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Rest yet for a little season”

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (Revelation 14:13)

“Fellowservants also and their brethren … that should be killed”

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Revelation 13:15)

The Historical Fulfillment

The fifth seal takes in the time period from the beginning of the Reformation and portrays the many individuals who sealed their testimony for Jesus with their lives. The cry for vengeance is a testimony that those responsible for their deaths will be held accountable. Like the blood of Abel that cries out, so these martyrs will be vindicated. The white robes of victory and deliverance that will be given to them depict this vindication.

Present Application

When Christ comes before the Ancient of Days and the books of judgment are opened (see Daniel 7:9–11, 13), white robes, representing the character of Christ, are prepared for the martyred souls under the altar and to all the righteous dead, for they have been found worthy.

The fifth seal culminates in the loud cry of Revelation 18 and the call out of Babylon. Then commences the final battle between good and evil as the hour of God’s judgment has come and the final call to humanity goes forth: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:2, 4). This will be the time when the mark of the beast is urged upon the inhabitants of the world, and there will again be a time of martyrdom as foretold in Revelation 6:11.

Revelation 6:12

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.

The Historical Fulfillment

The signs in verses 12 and 13 are believed by some Bible students to have been fulfilled over a period of years, beginning toward the end of the 1,260-year prophecy depicted in Daniel and Revelation as “a time, times, and half a time,” or forty-two months and 1,260 days. As this persecution was waning, the fifth seal depicts many martyrs crying out for retribution. Then there is seen in the sixth seal events upon the earth and in sun, moon, and stars. These events were recognized during the time by many Bible students as harbingers of the coming of the Lord, and indeed came at about the time that Daniel spoke of as the time of the end, 1798 and onward.

The signs began with the great Lisbon earthquake, which was felt in much of Europe and North Africa. It occurred on All Saint’s Day, November 1, 1755, which was a Saturday. No doubt many people were visiting the city and filling its churches for this festival. The quake began about 9:30 a.m. When it was over, an estimated sixty thousand people had perished. The North African city of Fes, four hundred miles away, and the nearby city of Meknes were both leveled. The quake was felt in Strasbourg, Germany, 1,100 miles away. Lakes and rivers were disturbed in Scandinavia more than 1,500 miles away.

Several months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December 2005 experts met in Lisbon Portugal, notice below what was reported about the Lisbon earthquake.

“The aftershocks of a truly epic earthquake are measured not by magnitude or distance but by centuries. Exactly 250 years after one of the world’s most devastating quakes transformed regal Lisbon into a ghost town, experts from around the world will gather to find a prologue for the future.

“The earthquake that hit Lisbon on November 1, 1755, rang Paris’ church bells and triggered a tsunami from Norway to North America. The 1755 earthquake, which also devastated Morocco and claimed around 70,000 lives, shattered the prevailing optimism that this was the best of all possible worlds. The earthquake struck on a sunny Saturday in Lisbon, one of Europe’s richest cities and an international trading centre.

“Tremors, so violent that they stirred waters off Finland, toppled buildings and set off a devastating tsunami that swept through the city’s centre. Fires, blamed on church candles, burned for six days. Aftershocks continued for nine months.

“The earthquake, estimated at 8.75 on the Richter scale, knocked down all but 3,000 homes and ruined 53 palaces, 32 churches and 46 monasteries and convents. Today the skeleton of the Convento do Carmo still haunts the Lisbon skyline.”2

“There was a great earthquake”

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. (Revelation 16:18)

And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:19)

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. (Acts 16:26)

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. (Matthew 28:2)

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. (Revelation 8:5)

Present Application

We read in Scripture of earthquakes that have occurred or are foretold. In one case it signaled deliverance; at another it was the result of the mighty work of God in raising Christ from the dead. In Revelation it is a sign or signal of the wrath of God in the seventh plague. Today earthquakes great and small are constantly shaking the globe, even as Jesus warned us: “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven” (Luke 21:11). This earthquake of the sixth seal is a sign of the nearness of the Lord’s coming.

Whether the fulfillment of this prophecy will be limited to the Lisbon earthquake or whether there will be another great earthquake to draw the attention of the world after the message of Revelation 18:1–4 commences and prior to the door of mercy closing, the purpose of this earthquake under the sixth seal is to announce that the coming of Christ is near.

“Sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood”

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:31–32)

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Matthew 24:29)

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:25–27)

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. (Mark 13:24–26)

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (Isaiah 13:9–11. At the day of the Lord, the sun, moon, and stars are affected.)

Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:13–16)

The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. (Joel 2:10. The context depicts a day of judgment and punishment with the sun, moon, and stars afflicted.)

The Historical Fulfillment

The second sign was the dark day of May 19, 1780, which occurred over the New England area of the United States, covering twenty-five thousand square miles. The darkness settled in at midday. It became so black that a person could not see his hand at arm’s length and artificial light barely illuminated the gloom. Some thought the day of the Lord had arrived. The night continued with the same extraordinary darkness, even though the moon had been full the night before. When the darkness dissipated somewhat, the moon had the appearance of blood.

Present Application

Similar signs may happen just before the door of mercy forever shuts, serving as a harbinger of coming events and as warnings to the world that mercy’s voice is soon to cease, with the cry, “Get ready! Get ready!” These signs in the sun, moon, and stars, with a catastrophic earthquake, if repeated in the future on a larger scale, would draw the attention of the world.

Sadly, however, the majority of the world’s inhabitants would likely soon forget these events, just like the antediluvian world did when the animals, seemingly of their own accord, came into the ark just a short time before the door of mercy forever shut. The timing of a future application of the sixth seal would be sometime during the loud-cry warning of Revelation 14 and 18.

Revelation 6:13

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

The Historical Fulfillment

The third sign was the falling of the stars on November 13, 1833, covering much of North America and parts of the West Indies and Mexico. These events seemed to speak to the people of this era that these were no mere natural phenomena. Reports of that day indicate that the stars fell with the intensity of rain or snowflakes. No doubt these signs, coming as they did just before and after the termination of the 1,260-year prophecy, which began what the prophet Daniel called the time of the end, gave an urgency to the judgment message that swept the religious world in a great awakening in the early 1800s.

As history has unfolded, prophetic events have taken place. The great Lisbon earthquake, the dark day, and the falling of the stars surely stirred the hearts of those living at the times of these events. Many students of the Bible saw in them the hand of God warning the world of the soon-coming King. They serve as waymarks as to where we are in the march of time and of Revelation’s prophecies coming to pass.

The likelihood that these past events would stir the hearts of the world’s inhabitants today is remote, virtually nonexistent, just as most of sacred history elicits little response from the people of the world. If God intended the seals to be descriptions of events from John’s day to the coming of the Lord, then the events of the 1700s and 1800s have served their only purpose by marking where we are in time. Thus we are now waiting for the last portion of the sixth seal to come to pass.

Though the time seems long let us remember, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Present Application

If the seals also have a lesson and message for us today, then the first four seals point to events now current in the world. Coming as they do in greater intensity since the mid-1800s, they are announcements of a heavenly judgment (see Daniel 7:9–14) that culminates in the last warning message under the fifth seal. If the fifth seal is fulfilled not alone in the martyrs of the 1,260 years of persecution foretold by Daniel, and seen in symbol crying out for vindication, then the lesson in the fifth seal is one of the coming loud cry of Revelation 18:1–4.

The sixth seal, like its historic fulfillment, is a harbinger of the end, and will be extensive enough, to draw the attention of the world to God’s final warning message. The texts above make it clear that at the time of the coming of the Lord, these extraordinary events on earth and in the heavens are signals that the day of the Lord is here. Yet some texts speak of these events happening before the day of the Lord as tokens of warning from a God of love. It would seem the seals have spoken during the last two thousand years and as well have a message to speak to us of events to transpire from the end of the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14 to the coming of the Lord.

Revelation 6:14

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

“Heaven departed as a scroll”

And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. (Isaiah 34:4)

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10)

“Every mountain and island were moved out of their places”

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. (Isaiah 13:9, 13)

The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. (Isaiah 24:19)

And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (Revelation 16:19–20)

Revelation 6:15

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.

“Hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains”

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. (Isaiah 2:20–21)

But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. (Luke 23:28–30)

There seems to be no question that the events of verses 14 and 15 will occur at the coming of the Lord, or just prior to it. At that time we can attempt to hide from the wrath of God, but then it will be to no avail. Or we can hide ourselves in Christ, being covered by His blood, having accepted His salvation and mercy, and live for Him. Then we can say, “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in Thy word” (Psalm 119:114).

Every man living will need to hide in this day of God’s wrath. There will be those who have found refuge in Christ, “even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings” (Matthew 23:37).

Alternatively, we can attempt to hide in mountains and caves—a futile effort, for there is no escaping the glory of God and the coming of Christ. We can take refuge in knowing and experiencing the love and mercy of God now, or we can reject that and hide in the caves and rocks later, which will only be our grave. Where will you hide, my friend? For hide you must.

Revelation 6:16–17

And 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: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The answer to this question is found in chapter 7. It is the sealed saints of God who shall stand.

“Who shall be able to stand”

The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. (Nahum 1:5–6)

The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36)

Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah (Psalm 76:7–9)

Revelation 8:1

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

“Silence in heaven”

Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. (Psalms 28:1)

This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me. Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord. (Psalms 35:22–23)

Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. (Psalms 50:3)

Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. (Isaiah 65:6–7)

Since the fall of man, all of heaven has been astir with activity. Angels, “ministering spirits,” have been “sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).

The battle between light and darkness, though unseen by human eyes, has been intense and unceasing. The intercession of Christ has been proceeding in the most holy place of the sanctuary. When this work is completed, Christ declares “It is done” (Revelation 16:17). “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:11–12). He leaves the sanctuary and the door of salvation shuts forever. It is silent, the work for man’s salvation ceases.

But there remains a short period of time before Christ comes in the clouds. During this period of silence in the sanctuary above, the faithful on earth experience the most intense trial of any group of God’s people throughout sacred history. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:4–7). They cry out to God for deliverance from the wicked which threaten them with complete annihilation. There appears to be no answer from heaven.

Further, Satan tempts them to think that they are not worthy of salvation. But they persevere in intense prayer begging the Lord not to keep silence but to rise up and deliver them. This unyielding trust in God is a small taste of Christ’s experience in the garden of Gethsemane. He too faced silence from God while oppressed, but He would not let go. The saints in the midst of their baptism of suffering hold onto Christ even as Jacob held onto the angel in his night of trouble. (See Genesis 32:24–28.)

If this half-hour period of silence is given in prophetic time, it equals about one literal week. This silent period would represent the fact, that heaven has been emptied of its inhabitants while on their way to and from earth to bring the saints home.

In the midst of the seven last plagues, the elect, knowing time is almost over, will pray earnestly, calling upon the Lord for deliverance. As the awesome and final judgment of the seventh plague falls, soon in the sky a cloud appears different than what has been seen before. This is the cloud that surrounds the Savior; the people of God understand this to be the sign of the Son of man, for “He cometh with clouds” (Revelation 1:7).

In solemn silence they gaze upon the cloud as it draws near the earth. It becomes brighter until it becomes a great white cloud, its base like a consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of mercy. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. (See Revelation 19:11.) Before His presence “all faces are turned into paleness” (Jeremiah 30:6). Upon those who have rejected God’s mercy there falls the terror of despair. “The heart melteth, and the knees smite together, … and the faces of them all gather blackness” (Nahum 2:10).

The righteous cry with trembling, “Who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:17). Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9). With this declaration gladness and rejoicing fill the heart of the righteous as they “shout for joy, because Thou [Lord] defendest them” (Psalm 5:11). “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation (Isaiah 25:9).


Endnotes

1.  James Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1987).   

2.  Reuters news service October 26, 2005 Lisbon, Lisbon’s 1755 earthquake a warning for today, By Barbara Cornell.


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