The Seven Seals (Part 1)

It feels like forever since I’ve taught. Thanks to Eddy for filling in for me a few weeks ago while I was in Kenya. I’m excited to dive back into the book of Revelation.

So, tonight, we’re jumping back into chapter 6. At the beginning of chapter 5, John records this scene in heaven of a scroll with seven seals—no one is worthy or able to open the scroll—except for the Lamb. So, this erupts into worship. Now, it’s time to start opening the seals on the scroll.

We’re going to look at the first four tonight.

Revelation 6:1–8 ESV

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

So, a few months ago, when we started this series in Revelation, I said that we were going to read and interpret the book through a set of lenses.

1) How Revelation fits in the story of the Bible (interpret with other Scripture).

2) Historical/Cultural Setting (how first audience understood it).

3) Genre (prophecy/apocalyptic)

Before we examine these four horses individually, we need to understand what they are collectively.

The four horses and their riders are tools of God’s judgment against wicked and sinful humanity.

This is actually an allusion to what the OT prophet Zechariah saw.

Zechariah 1:7–10 (ESV)

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’

Also…

Zechariah 6:1–8 (ESV)

Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”

In Zechariah these horses symbolize God’s worldwide dominion. In both Zechariah and Revelation, the message is the same—God is not just sovereign. He is THE sovereign. He is THE sovereign over all nations, over all the earth, over all human and spiritual agencies. His sovereign plan of judgment and salvation will be accomplished in all the earth.

God is completely in control of all of this—the living creatures/servants of YHWH are the ones who summon these horsemen who execute judgment.

White horse rider “was given” a crown

Red horse rider “was permitted” to take peace

A voice dictates what the rider on the black horse can do

Rider of the pale horse was “given authority”

So, these are most likely demonic beings. They’re in unison and there’s no heavenly/angelic being that is “death” and “hades.”

In other words, these horses and riders are instruments of God’s judgment. He is not RESTRICTING them…but He is RESTRAINING them.

THE WHITE HORSE & ITS RIDER

John records that the rider of this white horse is carrying a bow and that he is given a crown…he comes out conquering and to conquer.

This white horse & rider symbolize warfare in general/human lust for war and its consequences.

In each of these first four seals, we see God’s judgment in allowing human depravity to run its course.

Historical background/allusions:

The white horse is symbolic of a victory parade.

The Parthians—the only military force in the ancient world feared by the Romans. They defeated the Roman army twice in 55 BC and AD 62. They were a warlike federation of tribes east of the Euphrates (the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire) who were especially famous for their calvary, as they had perfected the ability to shoot arrows accurately from a charging horse. The Roman citizens were constantly on edge in fear of a Parthian invasion.

Again—stress that this horse/rider are not meant to BE the Parthians specifically but to conjure up, in the minds of the original audience, the image of a conquering and unstoppable warfare force.

Meaning—God’s judgment on humanity will come as he allows bloodthirsty nations/armies to ransack earth—human depravity at its worst.

THE RED HORSE & ITS RIDER

The second seal is opened by Christ and the second living creature summons a second horse.

Bright red—bloodshed.

Permitted (STRESS) to do 3 things:

1) Take peace from the earth

2) Cause people to kill each other

3) Use a sword to accomplish this bloody purpose.

Historical background/allusions:

The Roman Empire prided itself on the Pax Romana—the peace of Rome. The emperor saw himself as the establisher and maintainer of this peace and he kept peace by the sword. Any kind of threat to the stability of the peace of Rome was always feared. The Emperor saw himself as the sovereign over the empire who could execute justice with the sword.

Now, God is making it clear that He is the one who is sovereign. He alone has the power to establish peace and he alone has the power to take it away. He is allowing this to happen to show that the emperor is powerless before him and that, again, human depravity destroying humanity itself is the worst of judgments.

The word “slaughter” used here is horrific. It is the Greek word used to describe butchery (like animals). Now, judgment takes the form of humans turning on one another/civil war/and butchering one another.

THE BLACK HORSE & ITS RIDER

He has a pair of scales in his hand—not as a sign of prosperity but of famine and hard times.

A denarius was the typical wages for a manual worker for one day and would normally buy about 16 quarts of wheat rather than the one quart here. This would be only enough for one individual leaving no provision for his family. Barley was usually about half the price and was preferred by the poor.

Then, you’ve got the command from the four living creatures—vs. 6.

Again, historical background:

In AD 92, there was a grain shortage and Domitian decreed that half the vineyards in the province be cut down in order to increase grain production. This caused such a furor that he had to rescind the order. Cutting down vineyards would hurt production for years to come and would make a famine even more severe. This could be a reference to that type of situation, stressing the severity of the famine conditions and the extremes that people would have to go to in order to alleviate the suffering.

Another interpretation is that this is symbolic of the wealthy vineyard owners price gouging and in an attempt to get wealthier even during a famine.

Again…human depravity/greed/the result of war/conquest

THE PALE HORSE & ITS RIDER

This is the only rider with a name—and a co-rider. The primary rider’s name is “Death” and his associate’s name is “Hades.”

Pale=sickly

Really, a combination of all of the above judgments (sword, famine, pestilence, wild beasts) — 1/4 of the human population.

These are actually less severe than what’s coming in the last 3 seals.

SO…THE QUESTION IS: HAVE THESE THINGS HAPPENED? ARE THEY HAPPENING NOW? ARE THEY GOING TO HAPPEN?

Jesus talks about the judgment that precedes His return in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.

I believe that these things in Revelation are yet to happen.

God is completely in control of all of this—the living creatures/servants of YHWH are the ones who summon these horsemen who execute judgment.

In other words, these horses and riders are instruments of God’s judgment. He is not RESTRICTING them…but He is RESTRAINING them.