REVELATION 6
Notes
Transcript
Who Can Stand?
Who Can Stand?
Outline
Sixth chapter, six seals
Riders are identical to those mentioned in
1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze.
2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
3 the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.
4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 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.
6 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.”
7 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.
8 Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”
(1-2) FIRST — 1/4 Living creatures says, “Come!”
Maybe this was the living creature who looked like a lion, explaining the booming voice, as if it were a roar. His call to come is directed, not to John (Come and see), but to the rider.
White Horse
Rider: Bow, crown, conquering
The Bow is a military weapon of conquest and the word for crown holds the meaning of a victory wreath (stephanos) place on the head of a victor. Distinguished from a royal crown (diadem). It was given to him, meaning his actions were under the permit of a more powerful one.
The riders are more important than the horses. This rider is not Jesus Christ. People have tried to connect this rider with
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,
2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.
6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.
7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,
8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,
10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,
6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,
8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.
16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.
17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,
8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.
12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people,
14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
The connection is insufficient because the only similarity is the color of the horse. Also, it would not make sense that Jesus would come as just one of the four. Further, what takes place after the white horse comes doesn’t fit with what we know of the second coming of Jesus. Judgement chaos and death are still to come as we will see.
It is most fitting to connect all four horsemen with judgements as they seem to signify an overwhelmingly powerful military force.
(3-4) SECOND — 1/4 Living creatures says, “Come!”
Second seal was opened by the lamb, the second creature gives the same invitation to the second horseman, “come!”
Red Horse
Red could be symbolic of freshly spilt blood, indicating that this rider represents warfare. He has throughout time followed the first rider’s conquests.
Great Sword
Never said to have killed anyone with the sword.
Permitted to take peace away from the world
Rider takes away peace only, not killing himself
People should slay each other
Men slay one another once peace dissipates
The word slay denotes a “slaughter” or a “butcher”
(5-6) THIRD — 1/4 Living creatures says, “Come!”
Black Horse
FAMINE. Often following close behind conquering and warfare is famine.
pair of scales
These were scales for measuring out food rations during a time of famine. Every grain and kernel counts during these times. Food prices soared 1000-1500 percent during these times.
voice in the midst of 4 living creatures
English Standard Version Chapter 6
A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
A
English Standard Version Chapter 6
A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
Speaking to the prices of food during famine. A denarius was a day’s wages. So it was not yet to the point of total starvation, yet people were spending every cent they made during the day on food alone. Wheat was more desirable and a quart was all that a day’s wages could afford. But barley was cheaper and more could be purchased with a day’s wages. in these circumstances the average person could barely make enough to purchase a day’s ration of food for him and his family.
Oil and Wine is an interesting mention. Some have pointed to 1st century military practices as the basis for this statement. In AD 92 Domitian (Roman Emperor) found such a shortage of grains in Italy that he, trying to plant more fields, ordered that there be no more vineyards planted and that half of every existing vineyard be destroyed. As you can imagine, Italians like their wine. He was met with such an enormous outcry that he repealed the order.
John may be addressing a similar situation. Oil and Wine would have been a dietary staple of first century living for those who could afford it.
(7-8) FOURTH — 1/4 Living Creature says, “Come!”
Pale Horse (greenish, yellow)
Rider: Death, Hades followed behind
given authority
1/4 of earth
to kill by sword, famine, pestilence, or wild beasts
(9-11) FIFTH — Under altar (1st mention), Souls of martyrs
(9-11) FIFTH — Under altar (1st mention), Souls of martyrs
to
Martyrs “…when will you avenge our blood…?”
Each given a white robe
Told to rest a little longer
Awaiting the final number of Christians and martyrs in time and history
(12-17) SIXTH — Earthquake, Blackout, Blood Moon, Stars fell to earth, Sky vanishes, mountains/islands moved
Everyone hides themselves in the caves and mountains, trying to avoid God’s wrath.
Wrath is a part of final phase, judgement
One Seated, Lamb showing wrath
Notice all the different depictions of the lamb, what it does, how it is characterized
…For the great day of their wrath has come.... who can stand it?