Lesson 6 Revelation 6

                                                              Revelation 6

When all heaven had exalted the Lamb who had stepped forward to take the scroll, John was given to see the Lamb open one of the seals. It is the Lamb as though slain who opens the seals on the scroll. As in Revelation  5:6, the Greek word for “Lamb” in Revelation 6:1 is arnion, a term of diminution, “a belittled Lamb.”

The Lamb of God was sent to the whole world as a Gift from the Lord God Almighty (Jn.3:16). The Lamb was sent to take away the sins of the whole world and to bring man Life and Light (Jn.1:9, 29). In the Lamb is the redemption of the earthly, mortal body of man born of the corruptible seed of man (1 Pet.1:17-25; Eph.1:12-14). Jesus, the born Son of God, is an incorruptible Seed. In union with Him is the only hope of a forever living body (Jn.12:24; Rom.6:3-10; 8:28-30; Phil.3:21).

In the vision on the Isle of Patmos, Jesus had spoken to John concerning the trial to come upon all the world to test those dwelling upon earth (Rev.3:10). The test concerns God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The question is the same one that Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Mt.16:13). That was the first question asked.

We know that Jesus is despised and rejected of men. So the question becomes more personal. Jesus next asked, “Who do you say that I am?” The disciples had the right answer and Peter voiced it for the group. “You are the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the living God” (Mt.16:15-17; see also Mt.22:41-46). The disciples understood that the Son of Man was to be virgin born and therefore that God is His Father (Is.7:14; 9:6-7; Jn.1:49). The disciples understood Jesus’ claim that God was His Father.

“Who do you say that the Lamb of God is?” That is the Life and death and the hereafter question. The answer determines the redemption of the earthly body, and whether a forever living body will be raised up out from the dead earthly body. The answer determines whether one will be clothed in a body like unto Jesus’ body of glory or whether one will be left naked and unclothed forever. It is in the raising up of the body out from the dead that the earthly body is conformed to the image of the Son of God’s Love.

The trial is coming. The Body of Christ, the Church over which He is the Head, will be kept out of the trial. Each member knows Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, set forth for them as the Propitiation, that they might be redeemed in His blood (1 Jn.2:2; 4:9-10; Rev.1:5). Man’s judgment of Christ Jesus means God’s judgment of man, whether individual or collective.

And so the question for those left to go through the trial on earth will be, “What do you think of Jesus, the exalted Lamb of God? Whose Son is He?” Man will be judged by his judgment of Jesus Christ.

The coming trial is to be the judgment on the whole world. The judgment will be the  retributive justice, with man collectively bringing his own downfall and destruction. God is righteous and He is absolutely just. The judgment will be for the destruction of all who show themselves to be at enmity with God in their mind. And for the destruction of the whole world system of Babylon.

From the beginning, God has offered man and will continue to offer man the means of reconciliation through the blood of the Cross of Jesus. If anyone refuses to reconcile on God’s terms and remains at enmity with God in his mind, he must be treated as the enemy he has made himself.

God has given man freedom of choice and He will abide by man’s choice. That is right and that is just. If a man refuses to be redeemed through the blood of the Lamb, if a man sees no need of being redeemed,  then God must leave him to the death and nakedness of his rejection.

It is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, who “prevailed to open the scroll, and to loose its seven seals” (Rev.5:5). John had been called up to heaven to be shown the things which will be here on earth after the Church is in heaven with her Lord. The things which will be happening on earth during that last seven year period John is to record and send to the seven assemblies in Asia, to be preserved and passed on down through the Church Age. The Lord would have man prepared, so He records history before it happens (see Is.45:1-46:11).

The book of Genesis is a starting point of God’s gradually unfolding plan of the ages. Take away Genesis and you have lost the revelation of the beginning of the universe and the origin and the purpose of the human race and the reason for its redemption. All is gone. You have no explanation for the generations of the heavens and the earth. You have no explanation for the sin and death brought into the world by the one man. Take away the book of Revelation and you take away the consummation of all things. The end of God’s plan would be unknown. The completed truth of the regeneration of the heavens and the earth would be lost.

Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End (Rev.1:8). All in between the beginning and the consummation tells us how the plan works out. In Jesus Christ, God has shown Himself, that He may be known (Jn.1:14, 18; 14:8-11). Shame on us if we do not know Him.

This special scroll had been prepared with the visions to be shown John. As each seal is opened, John is shown a vision as a revelation of Jesus Christ that he might write it all down on a scroll and send it to the seven churches in Asia. It was in this way that the Church has this prophetic teaching on what will take place at the end of this age. These things will take place on earth during the last seven year period, which we call the Tribulation, far into the future in John’s day and even beyond our day. Yet we are close to that end.

Jesus had sent an angel to signify these things of the revelation of Himself to John and the Church (Rev.1:1). Being a Jew, John understood the signs and the symbols used in the teaching of the coming Christ to the Old Testament saints. John saw, in symbolic form, action that would be taking place upon earth during the final seven years of the seventy weeks determined upon Daniel’s people and the holy city (Dan.9:24-27). That final week of seven years will finish transgressions and make an end of sins and bring in everlasting righteousness for the earth and its inhabitants.

Though there may be some obscurity in the symbols and language, yet in the symbol, the knowledge of a fact is made known. When John describes something that was represented in symbolic form and the fact  occurs as predicted by John, all becomes clear. Through events taking place in our day we now see more clearly what was being shown to John.

We would expect that the symbol chosen would be for something best known at the time it was used by the writer. The symbol may not be so prominent at another period of time, but certainly it would be understood in the era in which it was used. Though we are long past John’s era, we have 6,000 plus years of recorded history which should help to aid our understanding of the meaning in the symbols and visions. Not surprisingly, some of the meanings of the symbols have survived through time and remain the same. As for John, though he would have understood the symbol, he may not have understood its significance, since it was dealing with things so far in the future from his day, and unknown to him in his day.

The significance of each symbol chosen for the purpose of making a true fact known is in that which is connected with it and that which it reveals.  In the opening of the first four seals, there is a common symbol of a “horse.” There is a “rider” on each horse and there is an “instrument” in the hand of the first three riders.

“And [John] saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and [he] heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four living beings saying, ‘Be going’” (Rev.6:1). As the first seal was opened, John said he heard, as it were, the noise of thunder. “As it were” is symbolic language. John did not hear thunder but the voice of one of the living beings calling to a rider to “Be going,” though many Bible translations have “come and see.”

The Greek word used is an interesting word. It can be translated either “come” or “go.” The Greek text does not have the word “see.” Had the text had the word “see,” then it would have been most likely that John was being invited to come and look on the scroll. Had that been so, would that invitation have been issued in such a thunderous voice of command? Earlier when John was addressed, it was with the voice of a trumpet, a call to assemble (Rev.4:1). Therefore, in this passage, “be going” is the better rendering of the Greek.

John said, “And I saw and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Rev.6:2).

The voice of the living being was giving a command to the rider on the white horse. We are not told which living being gave the command. As it was the second living being who gave the command to the second rider, and the third living being gave the command to the third rider and likewise the fourth living being to the fourth rider, we can, therefore, take it that this was the first living being who commanded the rider of the white horse.

In a voice like thunder, the first living being commanded the challenger to the throne to be going and carry out his evil purpose to have the dominion over the whole earth for himself. Here in picture we have the representative of the Lion, accepting the challenge of the adversary and on behalf of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, calling forth the storm of the judgment of the retributive justice for all mankind.

In the continuing visions to be shown John we will see that the rider of the horses is the same personage of Daniel’s prophecies. In Daniel 7 he is seen as the little horn who comes up among the ten horn of the fourth beast empire (Dan.7:19-26). In Daniel 9 he is named as the coming prince who confirms a covenant with many (Dan.9:26-27). In Daniel 8 he is identified as the king of fierce countenance (Dan.8:23-25). And in Daniel 11 as the willful king (Dan.11:36-45).

We will next meet him in Revelation 11:7 as the beast who ascends from the Abyss and is making war with God’s two witnesses. In Revelation 13 he ascends out of the sea among the ten horned head of the Dragon (Rev.13:1). In Revelation 17 he is seen in “his hour” as the ruler of the final Gentile universal kingdom - the eighth head of the Dragon (Rev.17:11). The apostle Paul refers to him as the man of sin [lawlessness], and a son of perdition [destruction] (2 Thess.3:3). The most common term used for this personage is the Antichrist, though Scripture does not apply the term, the Antichrist, in any of the prophecies.

Who is the rider commanded to be going? Why a white horse? Why did the rider have a bow and no arrow? Why was he given a stephanos, the crown of a victor in a contest? Why not a royal diadem? And as the commands continue, the horses change color? Why is that? And why do the instruments change? These symbols beg answers. What is it John is being shown?

Why a white horse? A “white horse” is a sign of “victory.” In John’s day, conquerors rode white horses through the streets of the conquered people as a show of their victory. This is one of those symbols that has retained its meaning of a white horse being associated with a conqueror.

The conqueror that John saw had a bow in his hand but no arrows. The arrow had been spent. He was not given a royal diadem worn by kings. A stephanos, a victor’s crown, was given to him. The stephanos was given to the victors in a contest in the Olympian games.

In the vision, John was shown that in some contest the rider of the white horse had hit the mark and come off the victor in the contest and therefore he received the victor’s crown. The rider did not go into battle for the crown. It was given to him. This fits Daniel’s prophecy of the little horn (Dan.7:24-25).

When the Lamb had opened the second seal, John “heard the second living being say, ‘Be going.’ And there went out another horse that was red; and power was given to him that sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given unto him a great sword” (Rev.6:3-4).

It is the second living being who calls forth the next action. The second living being, like a bullock, represents Christ Jesus as the righteous Servant of Jehovah, the birthed Son, Jesus, the God-Man. Jesus is the only perfectly obedient Son of Man. To Him the Father has given the authority to execute judgment. As He hears, He will judge. His judgment will be just because He does not seek His own will, but the will of the Father (Jn.5:27, 30; Ac.17:30-31).

If the world will not have the Anointed of the Lord, the Son of David, who was raised up out from the dead (Rom.1:4) to rule over them, then they must have the Judge to execute judgment. The judgment will be retributive justice. Man will be given what he has laid up for himself. Man will be given the result of his own works. Whatsoever a man sows, that he must also reap (see Ps.126:5; Prov.22:8-9; Hos.10:12-15; Gal.6:7–9; Jas.4:1-5:6).

It is the same rider on the red horse. “Red” is the color of “blood,” which has been shed. There will be bloodshed. The rider, who receives his authority from the fiery red Dragon, is to be going (Rev.13:2; 2 Thess.2:3-10). It was given to this rider to take peace from the earth. Since there is a peace to be taken, there must have been a previously established peace to be taken. According to the prophecy in Daniel 9,  the future Roman prince will confirm a covenant with many. The covenant of the long awaited peace will allow the Jews the freedom to reestablish their worship with their sacrifices and offerings in their rebuilt temple (Dan.9:27). But the peace is short-lived.

How will the conqueror take peace from the earth? He will break the covenant and cause the sacrifices and offerings of the rebuilt temple to cease and set up what both Daniel and Jesus called the abomination of desolation (see Dan.9:27; Mt.24:15-22; Mk.13:14-23). The abomination that causes the desolation is his setting up an image of himself in the temple in Jerusalem with the prince declaring himself to be God (2 Thess.2:3-12). When he does, there will be war between the parties of the peace treaty. They will go to war and kill one another. The war will not be with Israel. The Jews will have fled Jerusalem and Judea and Jerusalem will be being trodden down by the Gentiles (Rev.11:1-2; 12:13-17).

A “great sword” was given this rider. The “sword” is an emblem of a “weapon of war,” but it is also an emblem of “government authority” to make executive decisions, with the power of capital punishment and the power of the military. The Roman prince has a god of forces with which to back up his claim to authority and influence as the ruler of the New World Order (see Dan.11:36-45).

Man, having rejected Jesus Christ, the Anointed Son of God, to rule over them, will be at the mercy of man, and a man who has set himself up to be God. A man showing himself to be God but receiving his authority from Satan, strikes at every blessing which God has provided for His creation.

“And when [the Lamb] had opened the third seal, [John] heard the third living being say, ‘Be going.’ And [John] beheld and, lo, a black horse; and he that sat on it had a pair of balances in his hand. And,” John said, “I heard a voice in the midst of the four living beings say, ‘A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius, and see that you do not hurt the oil and the wine’” (Rev.6:5-6).

The third living being had a face like a man. The third living being represents the Son of God, who sits upon His Father’s throne. The One who was birthed in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. At His birth, the angels proclaimed the good news of great joy to all peoples and peace to men of good will (see Lk.2:8-18). But mankind was not of good will and they rejected the Gift of God’s Son.

In the last judgment, men will receive the impostor, who will take peace from the earth and bring the black death of the plague. It was a black horse that followed the red horse. The “black death” was a common name for the “plague” in the Middle Ages (see Lam.5:10).

John saw a black horse and the one sitting on it had a pair of scales in his hands, showing that something was to be weighed as to a certain quantity and as to the value. At this point John heard the voice from the throne giving the measure with its value. What is to be measured and rationed is that of which man’s daily bread is made. Bread is considered to be the staff of life.

Those of the New World Order have been promised a utopia on earth, with peace and prosperity for all. Yet there is war, and people are literally starving. The New World ruler has no means to sustain his subjects physically.

It is the voice in the midst of the four living beings that gives us the meaning of the sign of the “scales.” There in the midst of the throne sits the Son of Man, Jesus, who came down from heaven to bring man Life everlasting. Jesus is the true Bread, which if a man eats, he shall Live forever. If one keeps on coming to Jesus, he will never hunger. The Father sent the true Bread from heaven, that man not only be sustained forever, but that the inner man be satisfied with no hungering, no unsatisfied longings (Jn.6:32-58).

Jesus came to His own, but His own did not receive the true Bread from heaven (Jn.1:11). They did not want Jesus to rule over them (Mt.27:15-26; Mk.15:6-15; Lk.23:13-25; Ac.2:22-36; 13:26-50). Neither do they today. Israel does not recognize Jesus as her Messiah.

Men do not want Jesus. They do not want His Life and Light, His benevolent care and protection. And in the end times, they will receive the imposter, the little horn prince of the New World Order, who will bring war and starvation and death. How grievous that man, given a choice, would choose the destroyer.

The scarcity of grain underscores the inflated prices. In John’s day, a denarius was a whole day’s wage. With all that a man could earn in a day, he will scarcely be able to feed himself. “Barley” was the usual feed for livestock. The “oil” and the “wine” were not to be rationed out. They were not to be had by any but the wealthy. At the beginning of the judgment, the wealthy are seemingly untouched.

The oil industry as we know it was unknown in John’s day. We can see that it will certainly play an important part during this time. But the “oil” referred to in Revelation 6 is most likely “olive oil.” Oil and wine are not luxuries in the Middle East, but necessities for daily life.

Oil is necessary for the making of bread, the staff of life, and also for other cooking. And in such a dry climate the skin and hair must be oiled for comfort. Wine is also essential because of the quality of the water. Adding wine makes the water drinkable. However, warlords care nothing for the comfort of others. As long as they themselves are comfortable, that is all they care about. They need not drink polluted water so it matters not to them that others suffer the results from the undrinkable water or that others do without, or try to subsist on food that may be substandard for human consumption.

With the first three seals the rider remains the same but finds himself riding different horses. But when John sees the Lamb open the fourth seal, things change. “When He had opened the fourth seal, [John] heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Be going.’ And [he] looked and, behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hades 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” (Rev.6:7-8).

A different rider sits a pale horse, an ashen color, a sickly green horse, the color of a dying plant. And the name that sat on him was Death. The prince conqueror rides forth to conquer, but soon meets with opposition. There is war and bloodshed and famine, the evils of war.

War brings displaced persons and crowded refugee camps. With the famine, there is lack of sufficient food, and with polluted water and no wine to stay the pestilence, there is disease and death. Unburied bodies add to the already dreadful conditions with the problems of poor sanitary conditions and inadequate removal of waste, we have the dreaded rider, Death, and Hades following after.

There is no symbolic instrument with this rider. There is no need. Death is the destroyer of the physical body. It is the dissolution of the natural body to return to the dust from where it came. With the opening of the fourth seal, John saw Death laid claim to the natural bodies and Hades gathered in the souls.

After the last breath of the body has been exhaled, the dead body will return to dust in the ground where it is laid. Out of the dust of the ground the body was taken. Dust it is, and unto dust it shall return (Gen.3:19; Job 34:15; Ps.30:9). But what of the soul, the inner man who lived in the body? The soul, having been unclothed of the body, must go somewhere.

Until Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, all the souls went to Hades upon death, known in Hebrew as Sheol. There, the righteous regenerate were separated by a wide gulf from the unregenerate wicked (see Lk.16:19-31). Jesus’ resurrection made it possible for the regenerate souls of the redeemed to go directly to be with Him (2 Cor.5:8). Since that time, only the souls of the unredeemed unregenerate are gathered into Hades.

With power over a fourth part of the earth given to Death and Hades, one-fourth part of the earth’s population will die in the trial to come upon the whole world. Some will die by the sword, either in the war or under the power of the government. Some will starve to death in the famine and some will die of disease. Some may die of natural causes and some with the “beasts” of the earth.

In Scripture, “beasts” is used symbolically of “evil men” as in 1 Corinthians 15:32, where the apostle Paul speaks of having fought with beasts at Ephesus, or as in Daniel 7, where, in his vision, Daniel saw the four great beasts arise out of the sea of humanity. The beasts were wild, untamed, having no master. In the interpretation given Daniel, the beasts were revealed to be world powers (Dan.7:1-7, 15-17). And here in Revelation 6, pictured as wild, untamed beasts, these greedy self-willed countries, in refusing to submit to the Almighty and His Christ, will cause the death of millions of their people as they build their New World Order in defiance of the Lord God Almighty. One-fourth of the world’s population will be lost to Death and Hades.

It was the fourth living being like a flying eagle that called forth the rider of the pale horse. It is the power of God’s government to not only destroy the body but to destroy both soul and body in Hell, the Lake of Fire, the Second Death (Mt.10:28; Lk.12:5). See Revelation 20 verses 11 through 15 for this final judgment.

Under the first four seals John was shown the coming world war, which will be World War III, the final world war upon God’s earth. With the opening of the fifth seal, the scene shifts briefly to heaven and John saw “under the altar the souls of those that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth?’ And white [glistening] 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 were killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev.6:9-11).

Here are the souls of those who did not die from the causes given under the opening of the fourth seal. These under the altar were put to death. Each one was slain for the same crime - for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. The testimony of the Word of God is of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, through whom is the only salvation with which one can be saved from perishing (Jn.3:3-21; 14:6; 20:30-31; Ac.2:17-21; Rom.10:8-13).

“Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word of God” (Rom.10:17). How did those left upon earth hear after the members of the Body of Christ had been gathered to her Lord? On the Mount of Olives Jesus told the disciples, “The gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Mt.24:14).

God never leaves Himself without witness. In the next chapter, Revelation 7, we will be introduced to the evangelists of the time of the trial to come upon all the world to try those who dwell upon the earth (Rev.3:10).  In Revelation 14, we will see them standing on the holy hill of Mount Zion with the triumphant Lamb.

“Under the altar” is a Jewish term for the “place of bliss in the afterlife”; that is, after one has departed the body of this earthly life. As the Jews were sons of Abraham through birth, they considered themselves the Covenant people. As God’s people, under the Covenant, the sins of the nation were covered once a year on Yom Kippur. Therefore the Jews naturally expected to go to the place of bliss in their afterlife (Lev.16:1-34; Heb.9:1-22).

These souls that John saw are in heaven. Their sins have not been merely atoned or covered. They have the testimony to the redemption in Jesus Christ. Their sins have been put away once for all. Therefore, glistening robes were given to every one of them. Each one has been given a body like Jesus’ body of glory (Phil.3:21). The “glistening robe” is a symbol of that “body.” Each one is given to have part in the First Resurrection at the Second Coming of Jesus to earth (see Rev.20:4-6).

John does not say that they were clothed in the body. Though the body is given at the moment of believing into Jesus Christ to be born of the incorruptible Seed of the Word of God, who lives and abides forever, the bodies of these souls have not yet been resurrected (see Eph.2:14; 4:30; 2 Cor.1:22).

As members of the Body of Christ we, with Paul, understand that our life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our Life [a body of new birth] appears for us in the air, then the body of our new birth will be raised up and we will also appear with Him in glory (see Col.3:3-4; 1 Thess.4:13-18). The souls under the altar will, like us, understand that the body is given in the new birth of having believed into Jesus Christ. They will also understand that the Life will remain hidden in Christ with God until Jesus’ Second Coming to earth.

The “soul” is the “inner man,” the being who has a mind, emotions and will, and who lives in the mortal body of the earth. Even unclothed of the natural body, the soul is fully conscious and thinking, and feeling emotions and having desires. And each one has a will.

Collectively these souls have one will - that God should avenge their blood. These had been put to death by the evil little horn prince for the Word of God (see Rev.13:15). They had not been afraid to die and held fast to their testimony of Jesus Christ. They are in heaven without bodies, but they are fully aware of the promised justice of the Lord God Almighty (see 2 Cor.5:6-8).

They cry out with a loud voice for that justice. They appeal to the One who is holy and true. They address Him as “Lord” and appeal to His sense of justice as the Holy One of Israel and the true Son of God. They understand that God’s holiness demands that justice be done. They have no doubt their Lord will be true to His word and to Himself. Like Abraham, with the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, their thinking is, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” The question is, “How long before justice is done?”

For these souls to ask the Lord to take vengeance was a right desire. God is absolutely righteous and He is absolutely just. But what these souls under the altar are asking cannot immediately be done for them. There are yet others upon the earth who will hear the gospel preached by the evangelists and they will hold the same testimony and will also be slain for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

No time frame is given, only that they should rest a little season until their fellow servants have joined them. All of those martyred for the Word of God and the testimony which they hold during the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy are fellows. The martyrs of the seventieth week are bond-servants together at the same time of the trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.

And when the Lamb had opened the sixth seal, John beheld, “and, lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” (Rev.6:12-14).

With the opening of the first seal the rider is sent forth to conquer. Under seals two through four John is shown that the rider of the white horse will have opposition. War breaks out with all of its evils, the famine and pestilence and death. Also a holy war has martyrs, as revealed with the opening of the fifth seal. John is shown the redeemed martyrs under the altar in heaven crying out for vengeance.

Under the opening of the sixth seal, John is shown the end result of man building to his own glory in the name of man. John sees that the works of man’s building a global society of a New World Order will suddenly be brought to an abrupt end.

There is a great “earthquake,” a shaking of the earthly society of man and the whole global society so carefully built by man over generations with diligently made plans suddenly coming all apart at the coming of the King of kings (see Rev.19:16-21).

“Earth” is a term used in the Old Testament to signify or represent the social structure of the families of Noah under one leader named Nimrod (Gen.10:8-10). At that time the whole earth was of one language  and one way of speaking. There was one stock of words so men could easily communicate with one another. In this way, they could lay plans together and cooperate in making a name for themselves (see Gen.11:1-9).

Together, under the leadership of Nimrod, the families of the sons of Noah went east and found a plain in the land of Shinar. Together they would make a name for themselves. This was in disobedience to a direct command of God (Gen.9:1). The Lord came down to see what they were up to, these created beings of His. Then He shook them up as He gave their world a shaking up. The world which they were building for themselves fell apart. All of their plans were put to an abrupt halt. The Lord put a stop to their building and He changed their way of speaking and He gave them different languages, different words. He scattered them abroad over the face of the earth. He separated the families and tribes of the three sons of Noah over three continents (Gen.9:19; 10:32). Seventy sons were given land for their inheritance that they might grow into nations. Settled in separate geographical locations and no longer under the leadership of one man, mankind was put to the necessity of following another course of life. As for the Lord, He Himself continued with the plan and purpose of His Eternal Covenant in Christ, which was purposed for man’s good.

The families of Noah should have taken heed to the Word of God. They had the example of the Flood in the days of their forefathers. When every imagination of man’s heart was only evil continually, the Lord gave that society of men a good shaking up and He carried all of man’s works away in a great Flood and washed His earth clean of all the defiling rebels, who had made themselves enemies of God and had filled His earth with violence and corruption (Gen.6:1-8:22).

We today use the metaphor of being “all shaken up” over some unexpected interference in the planned routine of our lives. And we speak of our world “falling apart.” Here in Revelation 6, this shaking shown to John will be the final shaking of the whole world of mankind, that God might put it back together straight and upright to the praise of His glory. All nations upon earth will be involved, and not only the earth, but the heavens. The realm of the prince of the power of the air and his principalities and powers will be shaken.

This shaking has been prophesied by the prophet Haggai. “For thus says the Lord of Hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts” (Hag.2:6-7; see also Heb.12:18-29).

In Haggai, the shaking of the heavens is mentioned first. This shaking will come when Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven (Rev.12:7-17). No longer operating from the power of the air will be a great shaking of Satan’s operation.

As we have previously seen in type, “the earth” stands for “mankind, formed as a society.” “The sea” stands for “humanity as a whole.” “The dry,” “the remnant of Israel.” “The land” in the Old Testament is identified with “the nation of Israel,” the land promised to Abraham and his seed after him (see Gen.15:7-21; 17:7-8).

As in Genesis in the creation, “the dry” appeared out of the waters under heaven being gathered together unto one place (Gen.1:9). So, in the regeneration of the heavens and the earth, the nation, the kingdom of Israel, will appear with all the peoples in the sea of humanity gathered to come up to Jerusalem to worship (see Is.66:10-24). All of the nations will be shaken and the works of their own hands destroyed. The “desire of all nations,” a kingdom of peace, with all living in harmony, will come to be in the Kingdom of the desired Ruler. The temple of His Kingdom will be filled with the glory of God (Ezek.43:1-5).

The great shaking of the earth is meant to produce important changes in man’s society. Since what is being shown John is symbolized, we would not expect the earthquake under the sixth seal to be a literal earthquake. Earthquakes can be devastating to much territory and many people, but a natural earthquake of any magnitude could not produce the results seen here.

What John was being shown was the overthrow of the New World Order and the return of Christ. Jesus Himself spoke of these same signs in reference to the Tribulation of the days when “the sun shall 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.” All a reference to the Day of the Lord. “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all 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” (Mt.24:29-30).

As the sixth seal was opened, John beheld the great earthquake and, “the sun became black as sackcloth of hair” (see Is.50:3). The light-holder of the sun in the heavens is a type of God’s Son sent from heaven (see Mal.4:2). The heavens declare the glory of God as Psalm 19 makes known. The sun, like a strong man, comes out of his chamber to run his circuit, the psalmist tells us (Ps.19:1-6). God’s Son came down from heaven and ran His circuit. Having redeemed [purchased] His creation to set it free, He will return to claim it.

The picture after the opening of the sixth seal is one of mourning. The sun became black as sackcloth. “Sackcloth” is a garment made out of black goats’ hair, a very uncomfortable garment, worn in mourning as a symbol of sadness and distress. Here is seen, in symbolism, God’s Son putting on mourning for the death and destruction of His creation (see Joel 2:21, 30-31; Is.50:3; Mt.24:21-29).

“The moon became like blood.” The moon receives her light from the sun. She has no light of her own. Hers is a reflected light. The “moon” is symbolic of “God’s people, Israel.” “Red” is the color of “blood” outside the body. What is being symbolized here is  the “death of the nation.”

The Son is in mourning, but the death has purpose, that there might be a regeneration of a redeemed remnant. The remnant will be redeemed through the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn.1:29; Zech.10:1-12;13:1; Is.10:20-23).

“And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs.” It is well understood in the land of Israel that with a great wind the early summer figs will fall before ripened. The unripened summer figs furnish a picture of Satan and his host being cast out of heaven before they could bring to fruition their plan for taking the kingdom of earth (see Rev.12:7-12).

God’s created order of heavenly angelic beings He called “morning stars” (Job 38:7). The anointed cherub, Lucifer led a host, one-third, of these morning stars in rebellion against the anointed Son of God in a challenge for the Kingdom of God (Rev.12:3-4, 9). The struggle for dominion and the end of the struggle are declared in the gospel of Christ written in the heavens (Gen.1:14-19; Ps.19:1-6; 97:`1-12; Rom.10:14-18).

Satan and his hosts have been allowed by God to operate from the heavens. When the heavens are shaken, that rebellious host will fall like the unripe figs of the summer harvest. The shaking will remove them from their base of operation before all is in place [ripe] to take the kingdom of the earth through their little horn prince, the man of lawlessness. That event is described in Revelation 12 (see also Is.14:12-14; and Ezek.28:12b-19).

In the shaking of the heavens and the fall of Satan and his principalities, the effect is felt upon the earth (see Rev.12:7-12). The great convulsion was more than an earthquake. It is a convulsion to move every mountain, i.e., kingdom, world power, as well as every island. Every one is moved out of its place.

“Every island,” even the more isolated countries, are moved. And the inhabitants of the earth are moved with fear. “Great men,” civil authorities, chiefs of state. And “chief captains,” high ranking military personnel. And “rich men” financing the stakes, and “mighty men” wielding the power in high places, and every slave [bondsman] and free man. All trying to hide themselves from the face of Him that now sits on the throne. All the world powers go down together. All moved out of their place in the New World Order. The New World Order is no more.

Back in the new beginning after the Flood, God put the governing of man’s society upon the shoulders of man (Gen.9:1-6). Man has shown himself to be incapable of ruling himself apart from Christ Jesus. Man prefers to conquer. With the captivity of the kingdom of Judah, God gave the world over to Gentile dominion. In the opening of the sixth seal, John is shown the end of Gentile dominion upon earth. The world rulers so corrupt of heart and so blinded by the god of this world have brought the whole civilization of the world to ruin.

The purpose for  the shaking is that the things which man has made, things which can be shaken, will be done away, and things made by God, things which cannot be shaken, will remain. A Kingdom which serves God acceptably with reverence and fear will be established forever. In that Kingdom men will truly live in peace and harmony and all the families of the earth will be blessed.

The trial to come upon the whole world ends as Daniel’s prophecy with the Stone cut without hands has become a Great Mountain to fill the whole earth. Then the God of Heaven shall “set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan.2:2-44; see Dan.7:13-14, 24-27).

In God’s one last shaking, all government of world powers is toppled. All imperial power will suffer defeat. Each world power thinking himself to be like a mountain which cannot be moved, but with God’s shaking, all life upon earth is chaos and turmoil, typical of the disaster following a natural earthquake. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. All the tribes of the earth shall mourn (Mt.24:30; see Joel 2:1-11).

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits 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?’” (Rev.6:15-17).

It can also be seen in their desire to hide that all understand these things can be traced to the great God Almighty and His Anointed, the One they had so fearlessly been blaspheming. Now they are in great fear. The King has come for His Kingdom and there is no escaping His wrath. The whole population is filled with fear. All are helpless before the wrath of the Lamb. Even then they do not cry out for salvation and repent, but try to hide themselves.

It has always been all throughout history that, when one kingdom has overpowered another, the conquered government is forced to bow to the demands of the conquering power, as can been seen in carefully kept historical records. We also have examples in the Old Testament. And in times past, conquerors were known to ride into the capital city of the conquered power. The conqueror would  parade his captives, who were usually chained and bound, through the streets for all to see. He would then set up a throne in the gate of the city for the judgment of those captives. All public court was held in the gate of the city with the city elders. In the judgment, some captives would be worthy of being saved alive.

Some of those saved alive would be chosen to be retrained in the ways and thinking of the new ruler. Usually these were of the royal household which had been conquered and were thought to be worthy of use, like Daniel and his friends (see Dan.1:1-7). Others of those saved alive would be enslaved and serve in hard bondage. Some would be cruelly tortured for the amusement of the king and his court. Many would be put to death. No one would know his personal fate. Each would know himself to be at the mercy of the new ruler, which was true. He is. When John wrote the scroll of the unveiling of Jesus Christ to be sent to the seven churches in Asia, Rome was in power. The cruelty of their power was well known and documented for posterity.

When the Son of Man has come to sit upon His throne, what will not immediately be made known to those mourning, but what will soon be unveiled, is that Jesus Christ is not coming as a cruel master. Only the enemies will be put to death. Anyone willing to bow the knee will be spared His wrath. The wrath of God abides only upon the ungodly who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom.1:18). Man has brought disaster upon himself. The King is coming to put an end to man destroying himself. Men’s hearts are failing them for fear, because they do not understand the ways of God. Men think of God as such a one as themselves.

Two thousand years ago Jesus came down from heaven to destroy the world of lies and to deliver men from the cruel bondage of sin and death. He came for regeneration and freedom through the redemption, that man might be freely justified through faith in Jesus Christ. There is shelter in the cleft of the Rock of Ages. In that shelter is the only place to hide from the wrath of God.

Having dealt with sin in His First Coming to earth, Jesus Christ is coming again for the regeneration of the heavens and the earth that He might set up His Kingdom upon a cleansed earth, where men can live in peace and righteousness and all of the families of the earth be blessed (see Gen.12:3; 26:4; 28:14; 2 Pet.3:10-14; Is.2:2-4; 64:4-66:23) .

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto those that look for Him shall He appear the second time apart from sin unto salvation” (Heb.9:28). Having dealt with sin in His First Coming, Jesus will make safe His creation in His Second Coming.

The second time Jesus will come for the restoration of the heavens and the earth to the former times, before it was put in subjection to corruption (Rom.8:20-22). Jesus has been sitting in heaven on His Father’s throne for 2,000 years, waiting to come and put all enemies under His feet and put all things upon earth straight and upright (Ac.3:18-21).

We come to the end of the opening of the first six seals. What John saw and recorded concerning the seals is a brief summary of what will take place upon earth during the Day of the Lord up to the time of the actual unveiling of Jesus Christ upon His return for His Kingdom. John was shown these things that he might show us, the members of the Body of Christ, that these judgments are all under the Divine control of our sovereign Lord and Master.

We who live in these last days are children of the Light. We do not walk in darkness. We watch. God has not appointed us to wrath (see 1 Thess.5:2-11). We shall be kept out of the hour of testing to come upon the whole world (Rev.3:10).

The little horn prince of the first seal cannot go forth until the appointed moment that he is commanded to “Be going.” The judgments cannot fall until the same command is given by the living beings as ministers in the government of God. Here is an important connection between the throne set in heaven and the consequent summary of all that takes place upon earth after that first command to be going is given. All is seen to lead up to the Great Day of God’s wrath, called the Day of the Lord. Revelation 6 ends with the question, “Who shall be able to stand?”

Before the seventh seal is opened, John is shown in parenthetical vision how the Lord God will be providing for man to have the choice of salvation during the ultimate rebellion of mankind in the rebuilding  of the Babylonian lie, a New World Order of a global society.

This concludes our lesson on Revelation 6.