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The First Seal After the Lamb received the book, He began the process of breaking the seals that had kept its contents secret throughout the ages. As the seals are broken, the events that will occur between the Rapture of the church, and the return of our Lord to reign during His millennial kingdom are revealed.
1 Thunder is often used in the Bible to symbolize God’s power and His approaching judgment (1 Samuel 2:10, Psalms 18:9, Job 37:4). Thunder in verse 1 symbolizes an approaching storm. When the first seal is broken, one of the four angelic creatures before the Throne of God speaks. His message is simple, yet forceful. It is “come and see”. The Greek word is erchouwhich means “proceed”. This message is addressed to the first horseman. It is now time for him to ride across the pages of human history. “Proceed!”
The description of the white horse is probably taken from Zechariah 1:8 and 6:1-7. In Bible days, the horse was the animal of war (Job 39). The “white horse” was the horse ridden by the king in the victory processional after the war had been won. As the first seal is broken, a mighty king appears. This is NOT the Lord Jesus Christ, for He appears riding a white horse later in Revelation 19:11-12. This rider is an imposter. He is the “Antichrist”. He will come to power after the Rapture of the church (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). He will be Satan’s masterpiece, and the final Gentile world ruler (Revelation 12:1-7).
The “bow” in the Old Testament was a sign of military power (Psalms 46:9, Jeremiah 52:56, and Hosea 1:5). The Antichrist will be a great military leader. The word “crown” is stephanosand means “the victor’s crown”. Only Jesus wears the diadem, the crown of the king. The Antichristwill be empowered by Satan and will conquer the world. The phrase literally reads “he went forth overcoming and in order that he might overcome”. The Antichrist will go forth conquering, until the whole world is under his domain.
2 As the Lamb breaks the second seal, the living creature gives the command to “proceed”. There are two Greek words that are translated into the English word “another”. The first is heteros and means “another of the same kind”. The word used here is allos. The second horse is similar to the first one, but a different color. The Red Horse represents massive bloodshed. The red horse derives his power from Satan.
Jesus said that until the time of the end, there would be wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). During the reign of the Antichrist, peace will be totally absent from this planet, and war will be rampant. The Greek word for “kill” is sphazo and means to slaughter violently. The Tribulation Period will be characterized by war, violence and bloodshed (Isaiah 19:2, Ezekiel 38-39, and Zechariah 14:13). The Antichristwill come on a platform of peace, but he has concealed “a great sword”. He will be a master at deception, as is Satan.
3 The black horse symbolizes famine. In the Old Testament, the color black is used to symbolize mourning and famine (Jeremiah 4:28, Jeremiah 8:21, and Malachi 3:14). The rider of the black horse had a pair of “scales” in his hand. In the Old Testament, to eat bread by weight indicated a time of great scarcity when food was very precious (Leviticus 26:26, and Ezekiel 4:16). The lust for conquest not only brings bloodshed, but also famine.
The word “measure” is choinixand is the equivalent of about two pints. This word was consistently used during Bible days to describe the amount of wheat needed to keep a man of moderate appetite alive for a day. “Penny” is the word denarius and was the equivalent of four pence – the wages given a man for working a whole day (Matthew 20:2). The Tribulation Period will be characterized by unprecedented inflation, and a man will work all day just to earn enough money to buy food for himself.
“Barley” was the food of the poor. Normally one could buy three to four times as much barley as they could wheat for their money. A man with a family will be forced to eat whatever he can get in order to feed his family on what he earns. The three main crops of Palestine were wheat, wine, and oil. These three are always mentioned when the crops of the land are described (Deuteronomy 7:13, 11:14, 28:51; and Hosea 2:8,22). The grape provided the wine needed, and the olive provided the oil needed for cooking. The rider of the black horse is commanded not to hurt the oil and the wine, therefore, they will still be available, especially to the wealthy.
4 The word “pale” is chlorosand is used to describe the color of a person who has been stricken with disease or who has died. In Leviticus, it is used to describe a person with leprosy (Leviticus 13:49, and 14:37). Our word “chlorine” comes from this Greek word. This is the only horse where the rider is actually named. His name is Death. The word “hell” is “hades” and refers to the abode of the dead beyond death. Death is no relief to these suffering souls. After death, they face the judgment of God.
This destructive power was given to the rider by Satan. However, as always, he is limited in what he can do as is evidenced by the phrase “the fourth part of the earth”. The word “sword” is the word rhomphaiaand referred to the large sword used in war. Many will die as a result of perpetual wars during the Tribulation Period. The word “hunger” is the word limos and means famine. The word “death” here probably refers to “disease”. A global epidemic could be what is described here.
5 As the Lamb breaks this seal, John sees an “altar” in Heaven. There are two altars described in the Book of Revelation. The altar here is the altar of sacrifice (Exodus 39:39, 40:29; and Leviticus 4:7), not the altar of incense. Who are these people that are under the altar of sacrifice? In Revelation 7:9, we find the answer. They are the “multitude which no man can number” that will be saved during the Tribulation Period. They will most certainly be “slain” (violently murdered) by the Antichrist as they give their confession of loyalty to Jesus (Revelation 13:16-17).
The word “testimony” is the word marturion and means witness. It later came to mean “martyr”, because a faithful witness for Jesus Christ many times resulted in death during the early days of the church. These saints that have been martyred by the Antichrist cry out and ask the question that saints over the ages have been asking, “How long?” (Psalms 6:3, 79:5-10; Isaiah 6:11; Jeremiah 47:6, and Daniel 12:6). How long before God rights the wrongs in this world? How long before God puts down Satan’s rule? How long? These saints are crying out for justice and vengeance.
The “white robe” is used often in the Bible to signify righteousness. These martyred saints are not given the answer to their questions; instead they are given robes of righteousness. This righteousness is the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. One day we will be as He is, for we shall see Him face to face (1 John 3:2). God will bring judgment and vengeance, but only in His own time. The saints are told to “rest” (anapausis) for a little season. The word “rest” means “to cease work in order to have a time of refreshment”. These saints are told to cease their cry for vengeance and refresh themselves in the glories of Heaven. (2 Corinthians 4:17, and 1 Peter 5:10).
There are yet others to be martyred for their testimony for Christ under the reign of the Antichrist. When this has been accomplished, God’s judgment will come. God is in control. A certain number of people will be martyred during the Great Tribulation. God’s message to them is, “Sit back and rest; I know what I am doing.” This is the only answer we have to the “whys” of life.
6 When the sixth seal is opened by the Lamb, we see a picture of God’s universal judgment on all creation. The prophet Joel predicted these judgments (Joel 2:30,31). The word for “quake” is sismos and means “a shaking”. As the sixth seal is broken, we see a great (megas, meaning intense”) shaking of earth. Throughout the Bible, earthquakes are predicted to occur during the end times (Joel 2:10, Amos 8:8, Haggai 2:60, and Matthew 24:7). The sun will become as black as “black goat’s hair” (Isaiah 13:10, 50:3; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10; and Mark 13:24).
The moon had the appearance of blood (Joel 2:51; and Matthew 24:29). What is depicted in verse 12 is total chaos among nature. The sun will be dark at midday. The moon, instead of having its usual luster, will appear as blood. The whole earth will undergo a great shaking. To the Jew, the idea of stars falling from heaven was especially terrifying. Order in the heavens was the very guarantee of God’s unchanging faithfulness. If there is no order in the heavens, then all is chaos, and there is no hope (Matthew 24:29).
Heaven is pictured as a scroll being rolled out, held open, and then released and allowed to suddenly roll together. Again, this speaks of terrifying chaos in the heavens (Psalms 102:25,26; and Isaiah 13:13, 34:4). Even those things that are thought to be unshakeable will be shaken (Jeremiah 4:24, and Malachi 1:5). In verse 15, seven classes of people are described. These encompass the whole fabric of human society. No one is exempt from the judgment of God. All will be filled with terror because of what is happening.
Kings – refers to the reigning monarch Great men– refers to princes or governors Rich men– refers to those who have material wealth Chief captains– denotes a military commander of one thousand soldiers Mighty men– refers to the strong men who would normally scoff at fear Bondman – refers to the lowest form of slave Free man– refers to one who is free to go wherever he wishes
Those facing this, foolishly pray to the “rocks” instead of the “Rock of Ages”. They foolishly think that death will be an escape from the terrible judgment of Almighty God. The “face of God” refers to the “presence of God”. What sinners dread most is not death, but being in the presence of God (John 3:19-21). “Wrath” refers to “anger”. The Lamb, as we have already seen, is Jesus (Revelation 5:5), and He is angry! The word “day” means a specified period of time, not necessarily a twenty-four hour period. The Tribulation Period will be the time when God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth full strength (Joel 1:15, and Joel 2:1,11,31).
