seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
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.
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 people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
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, “Two pounds[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,[b] and six pounds[c] of barley for a day’s wages,[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
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.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,[e] were killed just as they had been.
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us[f] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their[g] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
a. Revelation 6:6 Or about 1 kilogram
b. Revelation 6:6 Greek a denarius
c. Revelation 6:6 Or about 3 kilograms
d. Revelation 6:6 Greek a denarius
e. Revelation 6:11 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 12:10; 19:10.
f. Revelation 6:16 See Hosea 10:8.
g. Revelation 6:17 Some manuscripts his
You all know I've read and commented on this chapter before..... before all that has been going on lately. If the end times have begun.... we have only hit the fifth seal at most.... the earthquake hasn't happened..... but according to the mountains in Hawaii..... it's puffing....right?
This is from the easy English site.
The seven seals divide into two groups of four and three. The first four were about the horses and riders. They were about what happened on the earth. With the fifth seal, the events moved from earth to heaven.
The Lord Jesus opened the fifth seal. John saw an altar in heaven. Under the altar there were the souls of those who had died. These people died because they believed in the Lord. They believed the word of God. They had been good servants of God.
John speaks about these souls being under the altar. When a priest made a sacrifice, he poured out the blood below the altar. The idea here is that these people were like a sacrifice. They were as a sacrifice made to God. In fact, they died on earth. But by their death, they offered their souls on the altar in heaven.
They spoke to the Lord because he has all authority. The Lord is holy. And he will do what is right. In the end, he must punish all evil actions. The Lord will punish the people who had caused their deaths. They knew this. These souls asked the Lord a question. They were asking, ‘How long must we wait? When will you punish those who caused our deaths?’
The clear answer was that the situation will become worse first. But, at the time when God chooses, he will answer their prayer. He will show his anger against the people who do not believe in him. That day of God’s anger will come upon the earth.
To each of these souls, the Lord gave white clothes. These clothes showed that they were clean from all sin. In other words, God accepted them as innocent. And he gave them honour. These souls under the altar were at rest.
God told them to be patient. They must wait a little time. People on the earth would kill more of God’s people. Then the time will come and God will act.
The commentaries are really heavy this morning. I used the easy English because, well it's easy.... understandable.I bet, if John hadn't written it down.... humans would not have even noticed the first rider on the white horse. He took our peace.
I just had a thought..... when Diotrephes was telling lies in the church..... was that the first seal? I mean.... after all.... when they start lying to us from the pulpit.... can things get better? Christians.... I mean real Christians... not the liars like Diotrephes who shaped the message to fit their purpose..... but real Believers..... lost their peace when the preachers and priests started calling the Apostles liars. Diotrephes wasn't there when Jesus was talking to Moses at the Transfiguration..... or at the table when Judas left to turn Jesus in..... or in the Garden when Jesus was arrested..... or at the foot of the Cross when they ran Him through with a sword and He didn't flinch.... proving He was dead..... or at the Tomb when they sealed it and put a Roman Guard at the stone..... or at the shore when He invited them to eat fish with Him. Diotrephes wasn't there when Jesus Ascended. But Diotrephes had no problem using slick language to call John a liar from the pulpit.... in a church John helped to plant..... stolen peace.....
I don't want to call COVID "the" plague the rider of the pale horse brings. It is "a" plague for sure.... but we've had plagues before.... black plague, small pox, and polio come to mind..... None of them has killed over 500.000 in one nation or more than a million world wide.... right? I would hope that there isn't another plague on the way.... worse than this one.
The plague is global.... there are wars and rumors of war globally..... there are riots and protests globally..... people are hungry and homeless globally. If the fifth seal hasn't been broken.... I really hope that I get to leave before it gets worse.
I'm 70 years old. I've been watching things get worse since the day I was born.... but here lately... everything seems to be moving faster. I have been in quarantine for a year.... the only places I have been in the past year.... the eye doctor, the produce store next door, and the mailbox. That's it... and now I've been stuck in this apartment for so long.... I have to make myself go to Walmart to break the cycle. I'm feeling like one of those people who is afraid to leave their house..... it's getting mental!
And the Bible says.... it's going to get worse?!?
I hope I'm right.... I hope I get to leave before the sixth seal has been popped.....
This chapter is a description of the first six seals... the seventh.... well.... it's complicated....
This chapter is only about the first six seals.
