Revelation 6

Revelation 6 - How Long O Lord?

Revelation 6 - How Long Oh Lord?

The Bubonic Plague of 1339-51 in Europe and Asia killed an estimated 25 million people. Smallpox 1775-82 in North and Central America killed millions and it is impossible to even estimate how many because it also killed the indigenous people of both regions. The Spanish flu of 1918-19 was a worldwide influenza that killed an estimated 50 million mostly healthy young men. In 1950-55 there was Polio that affected 60,000 in the US alone. 1968-70 the Asian Flu or Hong Kong Flu killed four million in the US. That is just a few of the pandemic/epidemics that the world has known in recorded history not to mention, Cholera, Diphtheria, Whooping cough, SARS, MERS and now Covid 19. We may think that is bad but war has been pretty prevalent as well. It would be impossible to mention every war so let’s just stick to the modern ones the US has been involved in listed by length of years: War in Afghanistan 2001 to present, Vietnam War 1955-1973, Philippine-American War 1899-1913. Let’s jump ahead a few or we will be here all day: Civil War 1861-1865, WW II 1941-1945, Korean War 1950-1953, WW I 1917-1919. That is just the wars we have been involved in and only a few of them. But wait there have been natural disasters as well. There have been over 3500 hurricanes since 1850; that averages about 20 hurricanes a year and a few are going on right now. I’m not even going to talk about tornadoes and floods that occur yearly. Earthquakes are devastating many places and have since the beginning of time and just keep on occurring today, California is always waiting for the big one and now we are having them in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. That is not all of the natural disasters but I think you get the picture. How about cold wars? The one we had with the Soviet Union ended when that nation broke up but we are in a cold war now with China and all of the Middle East, and the reason for the peace accords that were signed between Israel and Bahrain and UAE is because of the constant threat (cold war) from Iran. Then there is famine that has been recorded throughout history but even today in Somalia, South Sudan, parts of India, and Darfur. In most of those areas the poor suffer the most but the wealthy don’t go hungry. And don’t get me started on violence in the streets and just out right murder being common place, can you say Chicago, Baltimore and Detroit? We could look at more of these sorts of things but the point is all of these are ongoing just like Jesus told His disciples in the Olivet Discourse we read from Mark. Jesus was telling His disciple and us that all of these things would happen between His first coming to redeem His people and His second coming to judge the people of the earth. In fact that is what we are going to see in Revelation 6 today. Let’s pray then we will look at our passage this morning.

Like last week, due to the length of the passage, I am not going to read the passage in its entirety to you. I will read it as we progress through it but I do encourage you to go back and read Revelation 6 in its entirety.

Remember when we first started our look at the Revelation of Jesus Christ I told you that there would be places in this book that you will not agree with me or that you have never heard it explained that way before. Well folks this is probably going to be one of those places and it may stay that way through much of the rest of the study. This is the passage most of us know as the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” And it is, but not in the way many people think. Most people see the Four Horsemen as a set of sequential events. But I want to show you another way to look at them and the other seals.

In verse one the only One in all of heaven and earth that was worthy to open the scroll and loose its seals does just that. When each of the first 4 seals are opened one of the living creatures said “Come and see”. It has been debated as to whether the creature is speaking to John or to the horsemen being revealed but either way there is in each case something that is seen by John. Verse 2: 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. There is quite a bit of debate as to what this first white horse and rider represent. White is usually representative of purity or holiness so many people believe this rider is representative of Jesus who goes forth to conquer the hearts of men and bring them into the Kingdom of Heaven and He is shown first because all who would be in the Kingdom have been won. In Revelation 19 Jesus does ride forth on a white horse but His weapon is not a bow it is a sword coming from His mouth and He is meting out judgment. The horseman of Revelation 6 is wearing a victor’s crown (stephanos) and that crown was given to him, and you would have to assume by God. On the head of Jesus in Revelation 19 are many royal crowns (diadems). So I do not believe that this horseman in Revelation 6 is Jesus. Instead I believe this horseman is representative of military conquest, of nations fighting against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms. As I said earlier this has been going on since before Christ and it will continue on until He does return and judges the world. It is what will happen between the times Jesus came to redeem His people and when He returns to judge the people of the earth.

Verse 3-4: 3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. There is not much controversy over this horseman other than some say the red horse signifies communism taking peace from the world; but I’m not at all convinced of that. This horseman is like the thief Jesus talked about that came to steal, kill and destroy. His sole purpose is to destroy any peace that could be had in a world that is fraught with sin. Some say that the first horseman was military conquest but the second horseman is the actual warfare that goes along with military conquest and that could be part of it but look at the fact that peace is removed and people kill one another. When there are wars and rumors of wars, cold wars ready to ignite at any moment how can there be peace. With the violence in the streets, looting and burning of businesses, people being beaten, robbed and killed because they have a different skin color, or different political view, or different social status, or own a business, which is happening today, right now, but have been happening throughout history across the globe we would have to say that this horseman has been particularly successful. People kill people…Ever since Cain killed Able people have been killing one another and terrorizing one another whether it be from passion, greed or pleasure. Peace is not something that has been or will be on this earth and killing has been a part of history. It is what will happen between the times Jesus came to redeem His people and when He returns to judge the people of the earth.

Verses 5-6 5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard 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 the wine.” This rider has no weapon but his work is just as destructive. The scales that he carries are not the scales of justice but scales that were used in the market place. Wheat was considered the better grain as far as nutrition was concerned because of the protein content and it takes more barley to sustain healthy life. A quart of wheat was considered a day’s ration for one person, and three quarts of barley was a day’s ration for an individual. But the key here is that you could purchase a day’s ration for either for a day’s wages; a denarius. With that the case there is famine, hunger and along with that disease due to malnutrition. But notice there is no cost mentioned for the wine and oil; those are luxuries. And we know that those who are wealthy can continue to afford to purchase what they want as opposed to those who have to purchase what they need and struggle doing so. As I said earlier there is famine across the world even today, not so much here but it wouldn’t take much to bring that famine home; a bad drought, poor government management, poor agricultural management, crop disease or even using our food for fuel to run our cars. There have been famines reported since time began. Israel ended up in Egypt because of a famine, the great grandmother of King David entered the family because of a famine. The church gathered an offering as recorded in Acts because of a local famine in Judea around Jerusalem. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer is true, the wealthy don’t suffer nearly as much from famine as do the poor that is just a part of history. It is what will happen between the times Jesus came to redeem His people and when He returns to judge the people of the earth. Are you seeing a theme here?

Verses 7- 8: 7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. With military conquest, constant upheaval and discord and want will come death and the grave. That doesn’t take a lot of thought to understand that. At least a fourth of the world is at war, upheaval, want, hunger and disease at any given time. There is a state of starvation and pestilence at all times across our globe and where that is the case there is death and on that scale often the wild beasts abound to devour the weak, dying and dead. That has been a part of history and it is what will happen between the times Jesus came to redeem His people and when He returns to judge the people of the earth.

Let’s look at verses 9-11: 9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. The four horsemen have been shown to be riding throughout history and will continue to ride across the scene of history. But now we come to those who have been martyred because of the word of God and their testimony. These are those, like Stephen in Acts 6-7, who spoke the truth of the Gospel knowing full well that it could cost them their lives. They bore witness to as to the person of Jesus, He is the Son of God, and His work for redemption on the cross, and most especially His resurrection from the dead. They took up their cross and followed Him. These martyrs seemed to be crying out for vengeance against those who caused their suffering, which is understandable even if not according to the Christian mandate to pray for those who cause your suffering. But I don’t think that is what they are doing. They are crying our not for their own vengeance but for the Lamb, who is holy and true, to avenge and judge those who opposed Him by killing them. They wanted those on to the earth to know that their death was not for no purpose, that they were following the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But in Mark 13 we saw that this is what would continue to happen until He returns. People in history have been killed for their testimony of the Lamb and people today are being killed for that same testimony. Nothing has changed throughout history. It is what will happen between the times Jesus came to redeem His people and when He returns to judge the people of the earth.

We have seen in the opening of the first 4 seals that these riders were given the power to do what they do, it was under the Lord’s hand and obviously restricted to His purposes. We can see that as well in the fifth seal as those who were martyred hear that they can rest until all the predetermined number of those who would be martyred is complete. We can see in all of these that the Lord is in control. Now we come to the sixth seal and there are some things that sound very disturbing. Verses 12-14 12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. Compare this to what Jesus said in Mark 13, Matthew 24-25, Luke 21, and Acts 2 quoting Joel 2. I’m not going to read all of those because we do not have time but indeed some of this was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified with the earth quake, and sun being darkened. But I think we can look beyond just Acts 2. In this seal being broken we can see that the sun is affected, the moon is affected, the stars are affected, the sky is affected and the earth is affected. Everything listed are natural disasters or even catastrophes but what do they mean? There are at least four interpretations offered by scholars.

First: These are literal future events that will take place during the great tribulation period of 7 years. However since these other seals have most obviously been representative of other things and not real horsemen or real souls under an altar then I have to assume this is figurative as well.

Second: This is the final earthquake that ends the earth. In Revelation 16:18 there is a worldwide earthquake as a part of God’s final judgment. But if that is the case then there is no reason for the rest of Revelation. This would be the final judgment. But as we will see, after the final seal is opened in chapter 8 the judgments become worse and worse. So I don’t think this is that final earthquake.

Third: This describes events that will continue to take place before Christ’s final return. In his Olivet Discourse Jesus said, “There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains” (Mark 13:8). As noted earlier, Jesus was forecasting the way things will be between his comings. The events John saw present in exaggerated language a description of “nature gone awry” that will continue to occur between the first and second comings of Christ.[1] As I said in the beginning there is an average of 20 hurricanes a year for the last 170 years not to mention storms worldwide and floods, and earthquakes everywhere and very frequently. It is what will happen between the times Jesus came to redeem His people and when He returns to judge the people of the earth.

But look at how the people of the earth respond to these natural disasters. Verses 15-17 15And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand. This may sound to you like contrition or even repentance but pay close attention. This is blame. Every strata of mankind, kings, political leaders, rich people who control them and military commanders all say the same thing that the slave and common man says; “it’s all God’s fault that we are suffering.” They turn to anything other than turning to the Lamb and repenting. At least they know that they cannot stand against the wrath of the Lamb but that is not what they are experiencing. They are simply experiencing the fallen nature of God’s creation. The creation that Paul says is groaning with birth pangs until now. That is what Jesus said back in Mark 13. Those who dwell on the earth, those who reject God and His Redeemer will experience the wrath of the Lamb; that is sure, but experiencing the ongoing brokenness due to sin of God’s creation is not His wrath, that will come later. What we experience now are simply preludes to the wrath of the One who sits on the throne and the Lamb. The lost will continue to blame God and the Lamb for all their trials and struggles. That has been a part of history and it is what will continue to happen between the times Jesus came to redeem His people and when He returns to judge the people of the earth.

What have we seen here? Our world is filled with unavoidable suffering. Famine, epidemics, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and airplane crashes inflict untold suffering on humanity. We have no way of counting how many have suffered or died because of such disasters. On top of that stands man’s inhumanity to man. War, terrorism, crime, domestic abuse, and discrimination heap horror upon horror.[2] The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are riding today and they will ride until Jesus returns. This may sound hopeless but there is hope all the way through the passage. In the Mark passage I read at the beginning and throughout this passage we can see that God is in control. Jesus told His disciples that in this world there will be tribulations, people killing people, believers being martyred, natural disasters, famines, want, disease, war…But then Jesus went on to say fear not because I have overcome the world. But God’s wrath, the wrath of the Lamb is real and it is forthcoming on those who reject the Lamb. So what do we do until then? We can encourage people to turn to Christ, to avoid as much avoidable suffering as possible. Beyond that, we can cast ourselves headlong on the sovereignty of God. We may not understand why he allows such pain to continue. We may cry out with the martyrs, “How long, O Lord?” At the same time we affirm the goodness of God. He is all-powerful. He still rules from his heavenly throne. One day, after his wrath has been poured out fully on sin, all wrongs will be righted. Despite the suffering brought on by the four horsemen, in the end all will be well. Justice and love will prevail.[3] We can trust that our God is good. Let’s pray.

[1] Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation (Vol. 12, pp. 111–112). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 114). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[3] Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 115). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.