Revelation 6.1-8-The First Four Seal Judgments (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday May 29, 2024

The Day of the Lord Series: Revelation 6:1-8-The First Four Seal Judgements

Lesson # 25

Revelation 6:1-2 records the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven breaking the first of the seven seal judgments, which results in the appearance of the Antichrist on the stage of history as a peace maker and who is depicted as riding on a white horse.

The rise to prominence of the Antichrist as a man of peace is the result of the breaking of the first seal judgment recorded in Revelation 6:1-2.

Revelation 6:1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. (NIV84)

The rider in this passage is not the Lord Jesus Christ since this occurs too early in Daniel’s Seventieth Week since at this time He is in heaven rewarding His bride while at the same time pouring out wrath from the throne mentioned in Revelation 4:2.

Jesus Christ’s coming on a white horse is at the end and is the culmination of the Tribulation.

Also, Revelation 6:16 records the Lamb as still in heaven.

Furthermore, the white horse rider is not Christ since the other three horses are instruments of judgment with each rider an instrument of evil and judgment on the world.

The Lord Jesus Christ is also the one who opens the seals allowing the riders to go forth and would not be one of the riders and He also puts an end to the Tribulation judgments.

Here, in Revelation 6:1-2, the judgments of the entire Tribulation have yet to take place.

Lastly, the crown this first rider is wearing is the stephanos (στέφανος) crown, a single crown and a victor’s crown, not the diadēma (διάδημα) crown of a sovereign.

In Revelation 19, the white horse rider wears many crowns, and they are the diadēma (διάδημα) crowns or in other words, the crowns of sovereignty.

That the rider sat on a white horse is significant since white is a symbol of peace, thus the symbolism is that Antichrist will come as a peacemaker.

Daniel 9:27 teaches that the Antichrist will establish a peace treaty with the leadership of Israel, which begins Daniel’s Seventieth Week.

One of Antichrist’s first accomplishments will be to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict with a peace treaty with Israel according to Daniel 9:26-27, which begins Daniel’s seventieth week, the unprecedented time of Jacob’s distress (Jer. 30:7).

Notice in Revelation 6:1-2 that the rider’s weapon is a bow, yet no arrows are mentioned.

The bow is a symbol of distant victory and since no arrows are mentioned it seems to indicate that he gains his victory by bloodless tactics.

That all this is true is indicated further by the fact that peace is not taken from the earth until the second seal.

Antichrist will have a hidden agenda since his purpose is not world peace, but rather world domination since Revelation 6 goes on to say that he goes out conquering and to conquer.

This covenant between Antichrist and Israel is a peace treaty, which will guarantee Israel’s safety in the land and suggests that Israel will be in her land but will seek support that she had previously.

Revelation 6:3-4 records the second seal judgment.

Revelation 6:3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. (NIV84)

This second seal judgment will begin the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week.

This judgment says that red horse rider will take peace from the earth.

While the white horse was symbolic of a victorious conqueror and one who primarily gained his power by cold war and bloodless peace maneuvers, red is a clear symbol of bloodshed or warfare and the rest of the verse clearly shows this to be the case (Rev. 12:3; Isa. 63:2f).

The Lord Jesus Christ’s prophecy in His Olivet Discourse of world war during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week recorded in Matthew 24:6 parallels the second seal judgment recorded in Revelation 6:3-4.

Revelation 6:5-6 records the third seal judgment.

Revelation 6:5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” (NIV84)

The third seal judgment brings famine to the world as the result of the second seal judgment, which brought world war to the earth.

The “black horse” speaks of suffering and death and the “balances” of the careful rationing of food because of its scarcity.

The Lord Jesus Christ’s prophecy in His Olivet Discourse of world-wide famine during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week recorded in Matthew 24:7 parallels the third seal judgment recorded in Revelation 6:5-6.

Revelation 6:7-8 records the fourth seal judgment.

Revelation 6:7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (NIV84)

The color of this horse is ashen, a pale or yellowish green since the word for “pale” in the original Greek text of Revelation 6:8 is the word chlōros (χλωρός), which denotes a yellowish green, the light green of a plant, or the paleness of a person who is critically ill.

We are told the name of this horse is death and that Hades follows.

This is the aftermath of war, famine and death.

“Death” refers to physical death and “Hades” refers to the prison and temporary quarters of the souls of unbelievers between their death and the time of the Great White Throne Judgment and this is the compartment called “torments” in Luke 16:23.

“Hades” is the name given in the New Testament for the temporary quarters for the souls of unbelievers and “Sheol” is the name given in the Old Testament.

“They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth” is an amazing statement since it tells us that nearly a billion people by today’s population figures, will be killed by these means mentioned by John.

According to present figures and estimations this is about 800,000,000, a staggering figure.

In Revelation 6:8, John records four means by which nearly a billion people will be killed.

The first is “the sword,” which refers to death by war and perhaps by the cruelty of the beast and his godless system under the domination of the Red Dragon, Satan.

The second is “famine,” which of course, anticipates death on an even greater scale by starvation and the third is “pestilence,” which speaks of death by disease and plagues.

The fourth is “wild beasts,” perhaps, as an aftermath of the above, anticipates the fact that people will be weak, unprotected and easy prey for wild animals.

These first four seal judgments are a unit and a general description of the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week.

The Lord Jesus Christ’s prophecy in His Olivet Discourse of the massive loss of human life during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week recorded in Matthew 24:7-9 parallels the fourth seal judgment recorded in Revelation 6:7-8.