Introductory Remarks:
Starting with chapter six, the Church is no longer mentioned as being on earth. The Great Tribulation is the subject of chapters 6-18. Jesus Christ is the only One worthy to open the seven seals of the book. He is no longer walking around among the lamp stands (the church on earth), chapters 1-3, but is in heaven ready to judge the earth during the tribulation, chapters 6-18.
"The Great Tribulation is triggered from heaven. Jesus Christ directs the entire operation. This is the reason that Psalm 2:9 says, Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. . . Many will say that they don't like all this. Do you have a better suggestion as to how He should put down the rebellion on this earth? If you do, would you pass it on to the Lord Jesus? How do you think He should put it down? Suppose He came like He did more than nineteen hundred years ago. Do you think they are ready in Moscow, in the Kremlin to turn authority over to Him? (When McGee wrote this it was before President Reagan had his brief victory over the Russians, convincing them to take down the wall of separation between them and non-communist countries; now McGee and Reagan have left this earth, but don't think for one minute that the communists are through; don't ever think that these Masters of deceit are finished; they are like a sleeping giant, and they will raise their ugly head one of these days, and it will not be pretty). How about in any other country? I'm telling you, they are not about to turn it over to Him in Washington D.C. Neither of our political parties is interested in putting Jesus Christ on the throne. They have some very unworthy men on both sides who would like to be on the throne. My friend, may I say to you that He alone is the One who is worthy. And how is He going to come to power? Exactly as the second Psalm says: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. We are going to see that taking place from now on in the Book of Revelation - this is judgment on the earth" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
We will see that from here on through chapter 20 everything is in the future. In this chapter six of the seven seals are opened, and the visions attending them are related; the first seal in vss. 1, 2, the second seal in vss. 3, 4, the third seal in vss. 5, 6, the fourth seal in vss. 7, 8, the fifth seal in vss. 9-11, the sixth seal in vss. 12, 13, etc. I believe what we have here in this portion of the Revelation is a prophetic picture of the Great Tribulation.
The Seals
"The picture of the opening of the sealed scroll by the Son of God is given in Revelation 6. Here is the beginning of the unfolding of the judgment program of God. Angels are mentioned throughout the book in connection with the execution of the judgment program. Ottman says:
'When the first seal is broken a voice from the cherubim is heard, saying, Come. . . . It is the voice of the cherubim calling forth the instrument of divine judgment. The cherubim are still in executive connection with the government of God. That government has the respect to the earth upon which judgment is now executed. The successional calamities, coming forth as the seals are broken, are thus under the order and control of the divine administration. No instrument of judgment appears until summoned by the call of the Cherubim.'
Darby calls the seals the providential preparation of the divine government of the coming of Jesus. God is dealing in wrath (Rev. 6:16, 17), through human agency, to pour out judgment upon the earth" (Things To Come - J. Dwight Pentecost).
Verse 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."
LGT "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as the voice [the sound] of thunder, Be coming."
"And I saw"
"The vision unfolds without anything being said about opening the book and reading from it. In a more vivid and dramatic fashion the Lamb breaks the seals one by one and reveals the contents and the symbolism. The first four seals have a common note from one of the four zoa [living creatures] and the appearance of a horse" (Robertson).
"When the Lamb opened one of the seals,"
Jesus Christ opens all seven seals one after the other; He is now in charge. "The Lamb is a title for Jesus Christ in His first advent. It emphasizes salvation and His strategic victory at the cross" (RBT).
"And I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts,"
Literally, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as the voice [sound of] thunder. One of the living creatures calls out with a loud voice to one of the four horsemen; if he were talking to John he would not need to speak as with a thunderous voice.
"Saying, Come and see."
The words and see are not in the original; it is literally, come. The living creature is speaking to one of the horseman. He is calling out the one on the white horse, which I believe is the Antichrist. There are many theories as to the identity of the one on the white horse, even some who think it is Christ, as the one identified in chapter nineteen; however there is absolutely no similarity in the two. Also it seems really illogical for the Lamb to be opening the seals and to come out on the white horse at the same time. Remember, this is an exposition and not a commentary. I will leave the commentary to the experts; what I am about is simply expounding what I believe to be consistent exegesis.
Verse 2, "And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given to him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
LGT "And I saw, and consider this, a white horse, and the one who sat upon it having a bow and a crown was given to him and he went conquering in order that he might conquer."
"And I saw, and behold a white horse:"
"White seems to be the color of victory (cf. the white horse of the Persian Kings) like the white horse ridden by the Roman conqueror in a triumphant procession" (Robertson).
"All the figures of this verse are those of victory. The horse in the Old Testament is the emblem of war. See Job 39:25; Ps. 76:6; Prov. 21:31; Ezek. 26:10" (Vincent).
"This rider could not be Christ, therefore, in view of the fact that Christ is the Lamb in the midst of the throne who, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, is directing these events from heaven and is giving the orders to the four horsemen to ride. Christ is clearly identified in Revelation 19, while here the identity is certainly obscure, which suggests that it is not Christ but an imitation of Him" (McGee).
"And he that sat on him had a bow:"
Thieme says the battle bow represents unconventional warfare. The Antichrist only has a bow and no arrows; this could mean that it is just a show of strength and not a threat; he will show the nations that he is the one who can solve all their problems. "When Antichrist comes to power, he is going to talk peace, and the world will think that it is entering the Millennium when it is actually entering the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation comes in like a lamb, but it goes out like a lion. A promise of peace is the big lie the world is going to believe" (McGee).
"And a crown was given him:"
The Greek word for 'crown' is stephanos which is a victor's crown; this is different from the diademas which is the crown of royalty such as is on the head of the Godhead.
"And he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
"The aorist tense here points to ultimate victory. Commentators have been busy identifying the rider of the white horse according to their various theories. It is tempting to identify him with the rider on the white horse in 19:11f. whose name is the Word of God [Swete]. Tempting but the two riders have nothing in common beyond the white horse" (Robertson).
"According to Daniel 9:26, 27 the prince of the Roman Empire will make a covenant for a seven year period. This covenant evidently restores Israel to a place among the nations of the world and the integrity of Israel is guaranteed by the Roman powers. This is not only an attempt to settle the Long standing dispute among the nations as to Israel's claim to Palestine, but is also a satanic imitation of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant which gave Israel title deed to the land. This action is pictured by John (Rev. 6:2) as a rider going forth to conquer, to whom sovereignty is given by peaceful negotiations. This condition exists for three and one-half years, after which the covenant is broken by the Roman authorities and the period known as the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:21) begins. This Tribulation on the earth is evidently caused by Satan, who has been cast out of heaven into the earth at the middle of the Tribulation period (Rev. 12:9). He goes forth in great wrath (Rev. 12:12) to attack the remnant of Israel and the saints of God (Rev. 12:17)" (Things To Come - J. Dwight Pentecost).
Verse 3, "And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see."
LGT "And when He opened the seal, the second one, I heard the second living creature saying, Come."
"The white horse vanished from the scene, bent on his conquering career" (Robertson). The words 'and see' are omitted. McGee says: 'The first horseman could not be Christ, because when He brings peace to the earth, it is going to be permanent. This is a short-lived peace.' The first horseman has only a bow in his hand.
Verse 4, "And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they could kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword."
LGT "And there went out another horse fiery red, and the one sitting upon it was given him to take peace from the earth and that they should slay one another and a great sword was given to him."
"And there went out another horse that was red:"
The Greek word for 'another' is allos, that is, another of the same kind. These horses represent the conditions that will take place during the Great Tribulation; first, the Antichrist makes a false peace, with all his false promises, he also makes a covenant with the Jews but in a short forty-two months breaks his treaty, then another event follows, war. The horse was purros, that is, like that of fire, fiery red.
"And power was given to him that sat thereon"
All the talk about world peace from the Antichrist will be short lived, and then real world war will break out from the rider on the red horse. This world has not seen a world war like this one yet to be in the future.
"And they should kill one another:"
"This is what war does, it makes cannon fodder out of men" (Robertson). Men who should love one another will be bent on killing one another; peace will never be accomplished until Christ brings in lasting peace during the Millennium. All our political parties talk about world peace; they cry out, Peace, peace, where there is no peace, for there can be no peace where men's hearts are vile and wicked. The world does not need to be reformed it needs to be regenerated. The world is in such a vile condition that even when a tragedy has struck like the one last week, the Tsunami, evil men of this world use it for political gain. The first thing that representatives from the UN can do is criticize President Bush for not acting quickly enough, and not sending enough money. The bodies weren't even cold yet, and men from the Democratic Party were saying that Bush is spending more money fighting the war on terror than he was spending on the victims of the Tsunami.
"And there was given unto him a great sword."
The Greek word for 'sword' is macharia and it represents an instrument of war. "Antichrist will be a phony. He won't bring peace because here goes the fiery red horse of war riding throughout the earth again. And this is going to be a real world war. Don't say that this has been fulfilled - it hasn't been. It is future" (McGee).
Verse 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."
LGT "And when He opened the seal, the third one, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and beheld a black horse, and the one sitting upon it having a balance in his hand."
"And I beheld, and lo a black horse,"
Famine always follows war. "Lust of conquest brings bloodshed, but also famine and hunger" (Robertson). "Black is the color of mourning and famine, 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 (Jer. 4:28)" (Vincent). Thieme says "black represents economic disaster."
"And he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand."
"The rider of this black horse, like the spectral [supernatural] figure of hunger, carries in his hand a pair of scales. This is also one of the fruits of war" (Robertson).
"A pair of balances gr. zugon, literally a balance. Properly anything which joins two bodies; hence a yoke (Matt. 11:29; Acts 15:10). The cross-beam of the loom, to which the warp was fixed; the thwarts joining the opposite sides of a ship; the beam of the balance, and hence the balance itself. The judgment of this seal is scarcity, of which the balance is a symbol, representing the time when food is doled out by weight" (Vincent).
Verse 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."
LGT "And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, a choenix of wheat for a denarius and three choenixes of barley for a denarius, and the oil and the wine do not injure."
"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say,"
"This voice comes from the midst of the four living creatures, the protest of nature against the horrors of famine" (Swete).
"A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny;"
"A measure (choinix) is Old World for less than a quart with us, here only in the N.T. Of wheat (sitou). Old World for wheat, a number of times in N.T., in Revelation only here and 18:13. This was enough wheat to keep a man of moderate appetite alive for a day. For a penny (denariou). Genitive of price, the wages of a day laborer (Matt. 20:2), about eighteen cents in our money today (today, to Robertson, was back in the forties, so it would be more like, three dollars today, as the price of flour in the markets). Of barley (krithon). Old World krithe, usually in plural as here. Barley was the food of the poor and it was cheaper even in the famine and it took more of it to support life" (Robertson). A workingman will not be able to support his family in that day.
"And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."
"The oil and the wine are luxuries that are enjoyed by the rich. Oil would correspond to our toiletries, the beauty aids and the body conditioners that we use today; that is, the luxuries of life. The wine corresponds to the liquor that will be in abundance. Isn't it interesting that there will not be enough foodstuffs, not enough barley for food, but there will be enough barley to make liquor! They will make it in that day, and the rich are the ones who will get it.
Let me be very frank. During World War II the rich, for the most part, were able to get meat. They were able to get the luxuries of life. A very wealthy man told me that he never missed getting a big T-bone steak anytime that he wanted it. But I can remember getting very tired of eating tongue, which was one thing we didn't have to have blue chips to get and was something that was not rationed. In this day that is coming, things won't change. The rich are going to get theirs. That is the way it has always been. I feel like saying, Ho hum, when I hear these sincere egg-headed boys talking about how they are going to work out the poverty problem. All that it has accomplished is that it has given a good job to a lot of them, but so far it hasn't filtered down and been a blessing to the poor. It has never helped the poor to lift themselves up with any degree of pride. Why? Because the only Man who can lift up the poor is Jesus Christ. None of these egg-headed boys is able to do it. I am sorry to have to say that, but somebody needs to speak out against all of this tomfoolery that our government is going through. All that this wasteful spending of money does is to create more bureaucracy and to sap our tax dollars. This is the sort of thing that is abroad today, but just think what it is going to be like in that future day. This, which we are talking about in the Revelation, is future. The only reason that I make application to today is to show that this is not unreasonable; it is going to take place" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 7, "And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see."
LGT "And when He opened the seal, the fourth one, I heard a voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come."
Christ opens the fourth seal, pestilence and mortality.
Verse 8, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
LGT "And I saw, and behold, an ashen [greenish yellow] horse, and the one sitting on it, his name [was] Death, and Hades follows with him and was given to them authority over the fourth of the earth to kill with sword and with famine and with death and by the beasts of the earth."
"This is a picture of a breakdown of all civilization in the Tribulation. There will be great warfare. And, because of war and other causes, the food will be diverted to the armies. And, the storage and transportation systems will breakdown so 'supermarkets' will be bare. Famine will result. Next, medicines will be in short supply and unsanitary conditions will cause the spread of killer diseases. Finally, without normal civilization, animal populations (including mosquitoes, other insects, snakes, and larger wild animals) will grow unchecked. Massive human deaths will come directly by these animals" (Thieme).
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse:"
The Greek word for 'pale' is chloeros, from chloe meaning tender green grass. When a person is very sick, sometimes from a great loss of blood, their complexion turns pale, and they are on the verge of death. The pale horse is literally a yellowish green. This complexion is also seen in a person suffering from a jaundiced condition.
"The pale horse represents plague and pestilence that will stalk the earth. It also encompasses the possibility of germ warfare. Dr. Frank Holtman, head of the University of Tennessee's bacteriological department, said, 'While the greater part of a city's population could be destroyed by an atomic bomb, the bacteria method might easily wipe out the entire population within a week" (McGee).
We have been inundated the past week or so with news of the calamity caused by the Tsunami in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Bangladesh. As we see these horrible pictures taken of the devastating tidal wave we are aware just how quickly over two hundred thousand people can be taken in a moment. We are also seeing some natural disasters here in Southern California from the flooding caused by the last rains. All over the world we are witnessing, via T.V. turmoil caused by the weather. The newscasters are showing us pictures of what might be even more disastrous from diseases and famine from the Tsunami. I am not drawing a parallel to the Great Tribulation, however, it does show that these things predicted in Revelation and Matthew chapter twenty-four are not unimaginable. The closer we come to our Redemption, the clearer the picture becomes.
"And his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."
"Death is the name of the fourth rider (so personified) and there is with Death his inseparable comrade, Hades" (Swete). The word 'Hell' is gr. Hades the abode of the dead.
"In Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15, Capernaum is to be brought down to the realms of the dead, presumably here to that portion of Hades reserved for the wicked, because of its rejection of the attesting miracles of our Lord. In Luke 16:23, the rich man was in Hades, that part where the wicked dead are kept until the judgment of the Great White Throne. In Acts 2:27, 31, our Lord at His death went to Hades, the passage in Acts being quoted from Psalm 16: where the Hebrew is Sheol. His soul was not left in Hades, the paradise portion, nor did His body in Joseph's tomb see corruption, for He was raised from the dead on the third day. He as the Man Christ Jesus, possessing a human soul and spirit, as He possessed a human body, entered the abode of the righteous dead, having committed the keeping of His spirit to God the Father (Luke 23:46). The word grave in 1 Corinthians 15:55 is not from the word Hades for the best manuscripts have the word death, while Hades is a rejected reading. The translation should read, death.
In Revelation 6:8, Death and Hades follow in the wake of war and famine, Hades ready to receive the dead of the Great Tribulation period. In Revelation 20:13, 14, Death itself, and Hades with all the wicked dead are cast into the Lake of fire" (Word Studies in the Greek N.T. - vol. 3 - Wuest).
"And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,"
Calamity can only go as far as it is permitted by God, and no farther. The unbelieving mass of humanity likes to describe how Mother Nature is uncontrollable; this makes me laugh with scorn. Only an idiot would think that what happens beyond our control is beyond God's control. The wars and rumors of wars; the earthquakes in divers places; famine around the world diseases that are spread throughout the Third World, such as Aids, are not hidden from God. These things are predicted in His Word and they are happening just like clockwork according to God's timetable and there is not a single thing any politician or UN world leaders can do to stop it.
"Wider authority (exousia) was given to this rider than to the others, though what part of the earth is included in the fourth part is not indicated" (Robertson).
"To kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
This was foretold by the Prophet Ezekiel in 14:21: For thus saith the Lord God, How much more when I send My four [severe] judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the [evil] beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beasts?
"We have seen the riding of the four horsemen, and this follows exactly the pattern that the Lord Jesus gave while He was on the earth. In Matthew 24:5-8, in the Olivet Discourse, He said: For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many [the white horse]. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars [the red horse]: see that ye be not troubled: for all these must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines [the black horse], and pestilences [the pale horse], and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. This is the opening of the Great Tribulation" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 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:"
LGT "And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of the ones who were slaughtered because of the Word of God even because of the testimony they were maintaining."
"And when He had opened the fifth seal,"
The four living creatures carried out the first four seals, and now the fifth seal is opened.
"There is no mention made of any one who called the apostle to make his observation, probably because the decorum [correctness] of the vision was to be observed, and each of the four living creatures had discharged its duty of a monitor before, or because the events here opened lay out of the sight, and beyond the time, of the present ministers of the church; or because it does not contain a new prophecy of any future events, but rather opens a spring of support and consolation to those who had been and still were under great tribulation for the sake of Christ and the Gospel" (Matthew Henry).
"I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God,"
"The law commanded that the blood of sacrificed animals should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering: 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" (Vincent).
"This altar in heaven is symbolic, of course, the antitype for the Tabernacle altar: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount (Heb.8:5)" (Robertson).
The scene has turned from earth to heaven. The souls of them that were slain is a reference to the Old Testament saints, from Adam on, who were martyred for the Word of God. I am sure that John would recognize some of them because he was very familiar with the O.T. Also, John would recognize Paul, and Peter, and James, and Stephen, and many other saints he knew from the different churches that he ministered to. Robertson says: "Christians were slain during the Neronian persecution and now again under Domitian. A long line of martyrs has followedÂ…the repetition of the witness to Christ and the consequent death."
"And for the testimony they had:"
This phrase is literally, and for the testimony they were maintaining. The saints that were slaughtered under Nero and Domitian, as well as the Tribulation saints, are included in this. The word 'held' is eichon a verb in the perfect tense, which means that they maintained in the past, and will continue maintaining in the future, until Christ returns to set up His eternal kingdom.
Verse 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?"
LGT "And they were crying with a great voice saying, Until when, O Lord Sovereign, the Holy and true One, do you not judge and avenge our blood from the ones who dwell upon the earth."
"And they cried with a loud voice,"
The souls of the martyred saints cry out for justice. These saints are made perfect by the blood of the Lamb, and they now cry out with a loud voice for perfect justice.
"Saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood"
The phrase 'O Lord' in NT Greek is Ho Despotes, meaning Lord Sovereign used of God.
"Observe, even the spirits of just men made perfect retain a proper resentment of the wrong they have sustained by their cruel enemies; and though they die in charity, praying, as Christ did, that God would forgive them, yet they are desirous that, for the honor of God, and Christ, and the Gospel, and the terror and conviction of others, God will take a just revenge upon the sin of persecution, even while He pardons and saves the persecutors. They commit their cause to Him to whom vengeance belongeth, and leave it in His hand; they are not for avenging themselves, but leave all to God. There will be joy in heaven at the destruction of the implacable [ruthless] enemies of Christ and Christianity, as well as at the conversion of other sinners. When Babylon falls, it will be said, Rejoice over her, O thou heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her, Revelation 18:20" (Matthew Henry).
"On them that dwell on the earth?"
The following is a selection from a great Theological study by Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come:
"First of all we see that this period has in view them that dwell on the earth and not the church. This same expression occurs in Revelation 6:10; 11:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6 and 17:8. In its usage it is not giving us a geographical description but rather a moral classification. Thiessen writes:
"Now the word dwell used here (katoikeo) is a strong word. It is used to describe the fullness of the Godhead that dwelt in Christ (Col. 2:9); it is used of Christ's taking up a permanent abode in the believer's heart (Eph. 3:17), and of demons returning to take absolute possession of a man (Matt. 12:45; Luke 11:26). It is to be distinguished from the word oikeo, which is the general term for dwell, and paroikeo, which has the idea of transitoriness, to sojourn. Thayer remarks that the term katoikeo has the idea of permanence in it. Thus the judgment referred to in Rev. 3:10 is directed against the earth-dwellers of that day, against those who have settled down in the earth as their real home, who have identified themselves with the earth's commerce and religion" (Will the Church Pass Through the Tribulation? Pp. 28-29 - Henry C, Thiessen).
Since this period is related to earth dwellers, those that have settled down to permanent occupancy, it can have no reference to the church, which would be subjected to the same experiences if it is used here" (J. Dwight Pentecost).
Verse 11, "And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
LGT "And there was given them to each a white robe and it was said to them that they should rest yet a little time, until there shall also be fulfilled [the martyrdom] of their fellow-servants also their brothers, the ones about to be killed as they were."
"And white robes were given unto every one of them;"
"Though their joint cry for the riddance of the earth from the ungodly is not yet granted, it will be so in due time; meanwhile, individually they receive the white robe, indicative of light, joy, and triumph over their foes" (A.R. Fausset).
"And it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season,"
"Not merely rest from their cry for vengeance, but also rest in peace" (Vincent). 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 might rest from their labors [sorrows]; and their works do follow them [with them] (Rev. 14:13). Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28).
"Until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
The Greek word for 'fulfilled' is pleroo, and it means to fill full, literally, until the number be filled full. "Some text read, shall have fulfilled their course" (Vincent). "When this number is fulfilled, God will take a just and glorious revenge upon their cruel persecutors; He will recompense tribulation to those who trouble them, and to those that are troubled full and uninterrupted rest" (Matthew Henry).
Thieme says, "The Tribulational martyrs are told to rest and be refreshed. In the Bible, the intake of doctrine was the means of refreshment. They are to relax as the other Tribulational martyrs come to join them. They receive an interim body at this time. This is the same as believers in the Church Age receiving interim bodies until the Rapture of the Church."
Verse 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;"
LGT "And I saw when He opened the seal the sixth one, and a great earthquake came to be and the sun came to be black as sackcloth of hair and the whole moon came to be as blood:"
"And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal,"
"Let any one compare, for example, the account of the opening of the sixth seal with the description of the end: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt. 24:29, 30), and he will see that the one is almost a transcript of the other. It is remarkable that we find no account of this discourse in the Gospel of John; nor does it seem as sufficient explanation of the omission that the later Evangelist was satisfied with the records of the discourse already given by his predecessors" (Milligan).
"There was a great earthquake,"
The Greek word for 'earthquake' is seismos, and it means, to shake or agitate, thus as the earth is agitated we have an earthquake. "But here, not only the earth, but also the heavens are shaken" (Vincent). The earthquakes today, such as the latest Tsunami, are not a fulfillment of this prophecy; the earthquakes today simply show us the possibility of the one described by John here.
"The lithosphere is the outer shell of the earth. There are about a dozen plates of land that make up this Lithosphere. As new Lithosphere is created, the old Lithosphere is pushed down. . . that is, one plate moves down under the next one to it. As the plates scrape together we have faults and earthquakes and volcanoes along these faults. Seismos is the Greek word for earthquake. It can also include the ground shaking with a volcanic eruption. From the context, we have here a combination of a great earthquake and volcanic eruption in one. In the Tribulation, these activities will be intensified" (Thieme).
"And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,"
Here the hair is of a black goat.
"And the moon became as blood."
Literally, the whole moon became as blood.
Verse 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."
LGT "And the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree cast forth its unripe figs by a great wind being shaken."
"And the stars of heaven fall unto the earth,"
The falling stars (astors) are actually meteors.
"Aster, does mean star. Here it means a piece of a star, which we call a meteor. The piece of the star breaks off and comes into the earth's atmosphere from the sky or first heaven. This continues the prophecy that in the Tribulation the natural disasters on earth will continue" (Thieme).
"Even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."
This is simply a picture of the falling meteors likened to falling unripe fruit when a great wind blows.
Verse 14, "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."
LGT "And the heaven was removed as a book [scroll] being rolled up, and every mountain and island out of their places was removed."
"And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together;"
The word 'departed' is an aorist passive verb from apochorizo meaning to sweep away or to separate and remove. The phrase as a scroll is "a vivid picture of the expanse of the sky rolled up and away as a papyrus roll (Luke 4:17)" (Robertson). Literally the 'atmosphere was split apart resulting in the next phrase:
And every mountain and island moved out of their places."
When God judged Nineveh we have a similar picture: The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell in it." Thieme notes, "The first heaven is the atmosphere that protects the earth and is held in place by gravity. This verse is describing what we now recognize as the effects of nuclear fusion blast. Fusion sucks everything in instead of nuclear fission that blows, that is, moves everything out." (The second heaven mentioned in Acts 7:42 is the realm of angelic activity - the stellar universe. The third heaven of Revelation 4 and 5 is the throne room of God beyond stellar space mentioned also in 2 Corinthians 12:2).
Verse 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;"
LGT "And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the military generals, and the rich, and the strong, and all the servants, and the free hid themselves into the caves, and in the rocks of the mountains,"
This verse takes in every unbeliever from the highest to the lowest. God's judgment will be poured out on all unbelief in the last day. "In context here, there are six categories of arrogant unbelievers each relying on their own systems for security - country and corporate leaders, aristocracy, military rank, rich, great human talent and unionized labor. No human status or abilities will save the unbeliever without doctrine. Good and bad motivations and good and bad decisions makes the difference. They are all heading for the literal high ground but are missing the safety of the spiritual high ground of Bible doctrine. The devil is the ruler of the world and he gives preferential treatment to those who deny God's plan. Also, God has made free will the primary issue of the angelic conflict. Either you will choose for Him or for the plan of the devil (eat from the tree of the knowledge of human good and evil)" (Thieme).
Verse 16, "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."
LGT "And they say to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who is sitting upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb."
"What sinners dread most is not death, but the revealed presence of the Lord" (Swete). The Greek word for 'face' is prosopou meaning face to face with the Lord. This brings up an interesting point. The sinner is not ignorant of God, he just chooses to serve the god of this world, Satan, than to submit and be a slave to the Lord. The unbeliever cannot be reformed he must be regenerated; regeneration always comes before reformation.
Last night, Glenda and I were watching Fox News with Hannity and Colmes, when they had as a guest 'Roe' of the infamous 'Roe versus Wade' case. Thirty years ago the Supreme Court upheld Roe in her case legalizing abortion. Now she is going back to the Supreme Court to overturn their decision, for she has changed her mind regarding abortion, for now she believes abortion is murder. When Colmes, the bleeding heart liberal on the program, asked Ms. Roe why she had this change of heart, she said, I have been born again by the Blood of Jesus Christ. She went on to say that she feels responsible for the murdering by abortion of millions of babies. I only hope, whoever is working with Miss Roe will direct her to the sixth chapter of Romans where Paul is teaching that when a person is outside of Christ, he or she is a slave to sin. All unbelievers are slaves to their master Satan, and until one makes a decision to accept Jesus Christ as Savior, they will remain a slave to sin. As soon as one accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, they become a bond slave to Christ. A person must change masters from serving Satan to serving Christ. Regeneration must come before reformation. An unbeliever cannot do anything but sin for he is a servant of sin. A person can do human good, but that will all be burned as wood hay and stubble; even a believer can do human good, but that will all disappear at the Bema Seat of Christ.
Verse 17, "For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
LGT "Because the day of His great wrath is come, and who is [rightly] able to be standing?"
We will find the answer to this question in chapter seven.
"But what about the wrath? Wrath is strange and foreign to the person of God, is it not? God loves the good. God hates the evil. He does not hate as you and I hate. He is not vindictive. God is righteous, God is holy, and He hates that which is contrary to Himself. He says that Jehovah is a man of war. He is strong and mighty. He is mighty in battle. The gospel reveals the wrath of God. Paul said, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). Look at this world we are in, my friends. It already reveals the wrath of God, the judgment of God.
It is like mixing fire and water to bring wrath and the Lamb together, but all the fury of the wrath of God is revealed in the Lamb. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He made a scourge of small cords, and He drove the moneychangers out of the temple. Was He bluffing? He was not. He called the religious rulers a generation of vipers, whited sepulchers. He cursed the fig tree. He said Woe unto thee, Chorazin and Bethsaida (see Matt. 11:21). Christ rejected Jerusalem, but He had tears in His eyes when He did so. He still controls the forces of nature, and He uses them in judgment. God has declared war against sin. I say, Blessed be His name. He will not compromise with that which has brought such havoc to the human family! There is a day coming when the wrath of the Lamb will be revealed. Somebody says, I thought He was gentle and would not punish sin. My friend, God said, Be wise therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him (Ps. 2:10-12)" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Share freely but cite the source: http://bbbiblehelps.epizy.com