Sermon on Rev 6:1-8:5 for Pilgrim Church 27/2/22
“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’” (Rev 6:1).
In chapter 5 we saw that there was no one to open the scroll with seven seals. But the Lamb who was slain is worthy to open the scroll. In chapter 6 the Lamb breaks seals one through six. The final seal is not broken until chapter 8. In chapter seven there is an important interlude. I can only be general about these chapters but hopefully this will make sense of them and give you an outline to think further about what is happening.
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. 3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword. 5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” 7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (Rev 6:2-8).
The consequences of opening the first four seals are connected to each other. These are popularly known as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Firstly, I want to reiterate that these are not events in the distant future. The first verse of the book tells us that God gave us this “to show his servants what must soon take place.” The opening of the seals occurs immediately after Jesus takes his place at the right hand of God in heaven. This is a description of events that were already happening in the first century. However, I believe that we can take these to be events that recur throughout the history of the church.
The first rider has a white horse, a bow and a crown, and he is bent on conquest. Although later in Revelation Jesus rides on a white horse as a conqueror, this rider on a white horse is most likely a false Christ, given a crown by God as a temporary authority over the earth. He is set on conquest. His battle bow is threaded with three different arrows, that is, the three other horseman.
Rider number two has power to take peace from the earth and kill people. We really don’t have to look far for this. Wars are going on all the time in different places in the world. One stops and another starts. Right now, Russia has crossed the border into the Ukraine, bent on conquering this country and possibly others. Clearly, the rider who takes peace from the earth does so on multiple occasions throughout history.
The third rider brings famine. The prices mentioned in verse 6 are somewhere between eight and sixteen times the normal amount for these basic foodstuffs. Wheat and barley are day to day foods that the poor would eat. “Do not damage the oil and the wine” suggests that the famine is not as bad as it could be. This judgement is only partial. Again, famines recur over and over in world history. They are often part and parcel of wars because people are cut off from ways of growing food.
The fourth is Death with Hades following along after him. These may be satanic forces who cause death and bring people down to Hades. This is a problem for those who are under the dominion of darkness and are therefore going to an eternity without God. However, we must remember two things. Jesus has the keys to death and Hades (Rev 1:18) and Death and Hades are eventually thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14). The implication is that even these destructive forces are under the control of God and of Christ. There is nothing which Jesus does not have rule over.
The plagues affect one fourth of the earth, which is a lot but by no means all. This suggests that the plagues do not have to happen to the whole earth all at the same time or continuously. However, at any given point in history, I would give good odds that wars, famines and widespread death are going on somewhere in the world. In Matt 24:4-6, Jesus mentioned these events as the beginning of birth pangs. The birth pangs go on for a long time. They are not the end, but only a sign that the end is coming.
The suffering that happens when the seals are opened serves two purposes: punishment for the wicked and purification of the saints. God is judging the wicked before the Last Judgement. These smaller, temporal judgements act as a warning that repentance is necessary. There is a God in heaven and he will call the wicked to account. He will not ignore the persecution of his people forever. God is also purifying the saints through suffering. The saints were already suffering as we know because this is mentioned in the letters to the seven churches (2:3, 9-10, 13; 3:8-9). Christians experience the wars, famines and death, just as non-Christians do. While we are still in the world, these things will happen. Sometimes the dreadful events mentioned are actually worse for the Christians, like famines. In many places where Christians are persecuted, they are refused aid when there is a natural disaster.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. (Rev 6:9-11).
The slain and glorified saints, the ones who have been killed for the sake of the testimony of Jesus are under the altar. The altar in the earthly temple was in front of the Holy of Holies, and on it incense was burned and blood sacrifices made on the day of atonement. The heavenly altar is the place where Jesus offered the sacrifice of himself. The saints are there because they are covered with the blood of Jesus, redeemed and sanctified. The saints are not on top of the altar, but rather under it, under the protection of God. Their physical lives have been taken away but salvation cannot be taken from them.
The saints under the altar cry out for God to avenge their deaths. This has already begun in 6:1-8 but the saints must “wait a little longer” because more saints are going to be killed for the sake of Christ. When the full number of martyrs is under the altar, then Jesus will return in glory and the final judgement of God will be completed. The suffering of the saints is not a problem which God must overcome in order to bring about his kingdom. On the contrary, suffering and death for sake of Christ is the means by which God brings about the end, the fulfilment of all his promises and his eternal kingdom.
Perhaps the idea of asking God for vengeance seems strange, but it is found elsewhere in the Bible, starting with the blood of Abel crying out for vengeance from the ground (Gen 4:10), particularly in the Psalms. For example, “Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland” (Ps. 79:6-7 NIV). The saints don’t take vengeance themselves, but rather ask God for justice. We are commanded to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt 5:44). God alone is righteous and he alone will avenge anything which wicked and godless people do to God’s people.
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?’ (Rev 6:12-17).
The events in these verses are ramping up in a serious way. I think these descriptions are poetic rather than literal. In the Old Testament, events like the ones described here are precursors to the Day of the Lord, the time when God’s judgement arrived in full. In Isaiah there is a description of God’s coming judgement on Babylon (Isa 13:9-13), which sounds quite similar to this passage in Revelation. The stars go dark and the earth is shaken from its place in the day of God’s wrath. But the passage in Isaiah is followed by more mundane descriptions of sending the Medes to war against Babylon. This makes me think that here Revelation is using poetic language. Because there is a seventh seal yet to come, I think this is the penultimate and a serious warning before it is too late.
The response of the people of the earth is utter terror. Once they realise that God’s wrath has arrived they respond by hiding and calling upon the mountains to fall on them rather than having to face God. The gospel has gone out to the mighty and the lowly, but they reject it and do not repent. No one cries out to God for mercy. They just go for the absolutely useless plan of trying to hide from God. This is no different from Adam hiding from God after he had sinned. It is ineffective and totally the wrong response.
Chapter 7 interrupts the narrative about the seven seals. The seventh seal is not opened until chapter 8. Chapter 7 provides us with two viewpoints: one on earth where the saints must live within the broken, judged world, and one in heaven, where there will never be any more harm.
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. 5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. (Rev 7:1-8).
This passage alludes to a passage in Ezekiel. Ezekiel was taken by the Spirit in a vision to the temple in Jerusalem. The LORD was angry with Israel because of the rampant idolatry, even inside the temple of God (Ezek 8). God says that he will punish them without pity. However, before that happens, God sent an angel “and said to him, ‘Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it’” (Ezek. 9:4 NIV). What we have in Revelation 7 is a similar thing. The 144,000 are the servants of God. They are not part of the “people who live on the earth” who love wickedness and are opposed to God. Consequently, they are sealed by an angel before the wrath of God is poured out upon the world.
Who are they? Remember that we should not take numbers as literal. 12 is the number of the people of God. 10 is a number meaning all. Because these are multiplied together – 12 x 12 x 10 x 10 – this intensifies the idea. Therefore, the 144,000 includes all of God’s people, both OT and NT saints, both Jews and Gentiles. This symbolic number is rather precise, implying perhaps that there is an exact number of saints (see 6:11), but only God knows how many. Don’t be distracted by the fact that the tribes of Israel are listed (with the exclusion of Dan for some reason). The church is the true Israel and Gentiles are included in the people of God because of the work of Jesus (Eph 2:11-22).
In effect the church on earth is sealed before God’s wrath is poured out on the world. This is why the angels are holding back the four winds in 7:1. But notice that the seal does not prevent the saints experiencing the difficulties that come upon the world. There is no promise of being removed from pain. Instead, the seal indicates those who belong to God. They may go through the same suffering that is in the world, but the outcome will be different. The people who live on the earth and hate God are being judged in advance of the final judgment. The saints are not being judged but purified for eternity with God and with the Lamb who died and rose for them.
So what is the seal? Elsewhere in the NT, the seal on God’s people is the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 4:30). However, in Revelation it is probably the name of God and of the Lamb. In Rev 3:12 Jesus promises, “The one who is victorious … I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God … and I will also write on them my new name.” In 14:1 the 144,000 have the name of the Lamb and the Father on their foreheads. These seals are symbolic and not visible. No one but God himself can see the seal, either in us or on us. Christians are not getting “Jesus” tattooed on their heads!
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: ‘Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’ 13 Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes– who are they, and where did they come from?’ 14 I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, ‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,” nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; “he will lead them to springs of living water.” “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”’ (Rev. 7:9-17 NIV).
This second part of chapter 7 is a view from heaven not earth. The saints are standing before the throne. They are from every nation, tribe, people and language and there are too many to count. They have prevailed over the temptations of the earth and not lost their faith despite the persecution and suffering. There they worship God. This is quite similar to chapters 4 and 5, but in the earlier chapters there are no saints mentioned in the heavenly scene. In contrast, the scene in chapter 7 seems to be the resurrection state, after all the suffering is ended and Jesus has returned for his people. There is definitely no more suffering for the saints (compare Isa 49:10).
A word about verse 14: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation.” There is a lot of confusion in the church about the idea of the great tribulation. Just to be clear, the great tribulation is not something we can escape through being raptured while the rest of the world experiences plagues and pestilence. That is merely western escapism. In Revelation, tribulation is what the saints experience in the world, particularly because of persecution. To demonstrate my point I will use ESV to show where the word appears in Revelation (and yes this is the same Greek word as verse 14).
“I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 1:9 ESV). Tribulation is what Christians expect to experience.
“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life’” (Rev. 2:9-10 ESV). The churches were already experiencing tribulation when the book was written.
“‘Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works’” (Rev. 2:22 ESV). Here it is referring to tribulation as suffering because of sin, rather than because of persecution.
We should understand the mention of coming out of the great tribulation here to mean that Christians will no longer suffer when Jesus returns. The great tribulation is not a short period of time but the whole of the church age, during which the church suffers in various ways.
1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. (Rev. 8:1-5 NIV)
The final seal is opened and heaven becomes quiet. Hour refers to judgement throughout the book. Half an suggests that the judgement is sudden. All the prayers that the saints prayed earlier – ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ (Rev. 6:10 NIV) – have been offered before the throne and God acts and pours out his wrath upon the earth, swiftly and decisively.
The major things we should take from these passages are that God is in charge and he has not forgotten the persecuted saints. He has heard their cries and is judging the world, even before the final and eternal judgement of the wicked. The saints are known to God and sealed by him so that none will lose their faith or their salvation. There is a time coming when the suffering will end forever. But in the present time, suffering is within God’s purposes and will be used by him to usher in his kingdom.