Revelation 6:1-17

1. the first seal is opened – 6:1-2
1. Christ now begins the great work of opening the seals, and to fulfill the purposes of God
1. one of the four beast invited John to "come and see"
2. John immediately responded to the call and saw a white horse
2. the meaning of what John saw
1. the rider of the white horse
1. there is much discussion concerning the rider of this horse, but the rider is not the Lord Jesus Christ
2. Revelation 19:11 show us that this rider could not be the Lord Jesus Christ
3. when Jesus rides out of the sky in conquest, He will assume the sovereignty of the world
4. when this seal is opened there are many years before the kingdom of Christ is set up in power
5. when Jesus rides out of the sky it will be on a white horse, but with Him will be a host of other riders clothed in white and riding upon white horses
6. this rider is none other than the COUNTERFEIT Christ, known as the Antichrist
1. this is not an antichrist, but this is the man of sin, the devil in flesh
2. for everything God has that is great and wonderful, the devil has a cheap counterfeit
3. the Antichrist will ride a white horse, and in Revelation 19 CHRIST will ride a white horse
4. the personality in verse 2 is a counterfeit -- he counterfeits everything Jesus has
1. antichrist will not appear as a villain
2. he is not going to have horns and cloven feet, but can and will appear as an angel of light
3. he is going to be the most attractive man this world has ever seen
2. this rider of the white horse goes forth in mighty conquest and he is victorious
1. the white horse is a symbol of victory; but he is victorious without bloodshed or slaughter
2. The rider has a "bow", but no arrow denoting bloodless victory
3. "A crown was given to him."
1. notice that the crown is presented before the victory, and therefore not a victors crown
2. this crown denotes that dignity and power is bestowed upon this rider of the white horse, who offers to the world peace without bloodshed
3. during the first three and a half years of the reign of the Antichrist, there will be no bloodshed
4. those years will be a time of peace and prosperity
5. he will make a covenant with the Jews in their own land, and all will be peace, until 3 1/2 years have gone by, then all hell will break loose
6. when antichrist come to power the world will think they are entering the Millennium, but in reality they are entering the Great Tribulation
7. the Great Tribulation comes in like a lamb, but goes out like a lion
8. a promise of peace is the big lie that the world is going to believe
4. "He went forth conquering, and to conquer."
1. his reign was marked with victory on every hand, and he became the idol of the nations who had rejected the Lord Jesus Christ
2. he was worshipped as the one who had finally brought world peace
3. the world is looking for a super-human to lead the nations into world peace
4. Peter tells us that when they say, "Peace and safety," sudden destruction "cometh upon them."
5. according to the signs all around us, we must surely be very near the Rapture
2. the second seal is opened – 6:3-4
1. the peace which the rider on the white horse brought to the earth was temporary and counterfeit
1. the first horseman could not have been Christ, because the peace that He will bring is permanent
2. antichrist had presented himself as a ruler who brings peace to the world
3. God says, "there is no peace, … to the wicked"
4. Satan is a liar and a phony
2. the red horse denotes slaughter and rivers of blood
1. we cannot set a number of weeks or months; but when the white horse had completed his mission, the red horse immediately rode out (probably 3 ½ years)
2. the rider is not named, but we know he is a man [him]
3. the man was appointed by God for a specific purpose [to take peace from the earth]
4. in this hour of judgment God will use appointed men to carry out His appointed program
3. "and there was given unto him a great sword"
1. the power possessed by the red horseman was GIVEN to him
1. he did not have power within himself, nor did he merit the power he demonstrated
2. the power was given to him by another; Jesus said, "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth"
3. the devil, nor any one of his cohorts could have any power except it were permitted by God
2. the rider of the red horse is commanded to take peace from the earth
1. His conflict against mankind will be unchecked, and blood will run like rivers
2. he will have the ability to stir up anger in men; they will crave blood, and blood will be shed
3. war is surely deplorable, but this is a different type of slaughter
1. it will be a state of open, armed, civil rebellion
2. brother against brother, sister against sister, pouring out their vengeance upon each other
3. this is the worst kind of war, and it is hard for us to conceive of such a conflict
4. this is exactly what will happen when the rider of the red horse rides through the earth during the Great Tribulation period
3. the third seal is opened – 6:5-6
1. a black horse
1. the black horse indicates mourning and famine
2. this horse brings forth a worldwide famine
3. after war there is usually a shortage of food stuff
2. the balances represent trade and business
1. politicians, merchants, and bankers are very influential people
2. they have the power to generate prosperity or calamity, inflation or depression
3. these will take advantage of the situation
4. this plague will hurt the poor people the worst
3. the severity of the famine
1. a measure of wheat, or three measures of barley are equal to a days rations for one person
2. a penny was equal to a days wage
3. these conditions will allow a wage earner to barely survive
4. the working man will not be able to support his family
4. the oil and wine were not to be hurt
1. these were luxuries enjoyed by the rich
2. signifies that the rich will be excluded from this famine
3. the chastisement of this seal falls on the working classes, the poor people
4. the rich will not escape, even though they do escape hunger when the black horse rides out
4. the fourth seal is opened – 6:7-8
1. another power is summoned (Death and Hell)
1. the judgments are increasing in severity
2. Death and Hell, are the keepers of those butchered during these terrible days
3. Death deals with the living; Hell with the souls of the dead
2. we are reminded of the fact that these judgments have their source in the throne of God [was given]
1. the authority to kill and to destroy was not his, but was given to him
2. the sequence, character, duration and severity are all determined by God
3. the instruments of destruction that are ordained of God
1. the bloody sword will not be withdrawn until the divinely appointed task is finished
2. hunger will not be withdrawn until its deadly work and painful death has come to completion
3. pestilence or plague (death) will reap its harvest
1. "with sword and with hunger" implies death [power was given unto them…to kill]
2. this word [death] must refer to a death by some other form
3. a death that would seem to have no visible cause as the "sword" or "hunger"
4. this would well signify the pestilence or plague
5. at this time the world will be ripe for a plague
1. unburied bodies of the dead
2. filth of a camp
3. the want of food
4. the crowding together of the multitudes
4. the beasts of the earth will rush in to finish the ghastly destruction of the enemies of Jesus Christ
5. the fifth seal is opened – 6:9-11
1. when the fifth seal is opened the scene changes completely (back in heaven)
2. who are these martyrs – 9
1. all the children of God had been taken out of the world at the rapture
2. these martyrs must be those who were put to death for Christ’s sake during the Tribulation period
3. this means that they had become believers during the Tribulation period
4. these martyrs were slain for the testimony they held [for the Word of God]
5. these martyrs were victims of religious persecution
3. what caused a revival of belief in the true God during this period
1. there were no true believers remaining on earth at the beginning of the Tribulation
2. there are two witness that God will send into the world during the Tribulation period – Revelation 11:3
3. it is quit possible that there will be other silent witness in this world
1. millions of copies of the Bible have been published in all major languages, and distributed throughout the world
2. when the believers are removed at the rapture, the Bibles will not be removed
3. multitudes will be compelled to read the Bible in those days
4. with the sudden disappearance of the Christians, the preaching of the two witness, and the great catastrophes coming on the earth; many people will finally acknowledge that there is really a God
5. many will turn to their Creator and Savior in those days, and will be willing to give their testimony and lives for their new found hope
6. as they seek to persuade the world that the calamities they are suffering are the judgments of God, they will be slain
4. after the Rapture, it will be literally hell on earth
1. Now the Holy Spirit bridles the passions of ungodly men
2. when the presence of the Holy Spirit is withdrawn, the devil will have full sway in the hearts and lives of the masses
5. these martyrs were crying aloud for vengeance on their enemies – 10
1. their cry for vengeance is heard, but the answer is delayed
2. God’s holiness and truth can hardly endure much longer the wickedness of man
3. God is long-suffering, and there are many more that will turn to Christ as the judgments intensify - 11
6. today, Christians are to pray for those who despitefully use them
1. we do not pray for God to destroy our enemies, we are to return good for evil; this is the age of Grace
2. this is another dispensation, much like the OT dispensation of Law (eye for an eye)
3. Jesus did not rebuke them when they begged for vengeance to be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth
4. He did not shame them, He gave to each of them a white robe
5. In this day of Grace, if we return evil for evil, we do not receive a reward, but rather a rebuke
6. the sixth seal is opened – 6:12-17
1. when the sixth seal is removed, there is a great earthquake - 12
1. there are those who symbolized these verses, but they are just as real as are the souls under the altar
2. we know what an earthquake is; what the sun is; what BLACK is
3. when the sixth seal is removed the earth will go into convulsions; it will reel and rock – 6:12-14
2. then there will be a prayer meeting that is well attended – 6:15-16
1. all people great and small will be there
2. they will beg the mountains and the rocks to fall on them
3. they are still seeking help from all the wrong places
3. what is it that they wanted to be hidden from – 16 ["from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb"]
1. these people see the face of Jesus, and are in mortal fear
2. Only the BORN AGAIN will go in the Rapture, and if you are not born again you will be left behind
3. if the Rapture would take place right now, and you are not saved, you could very well be alive when this terrible time comes upon the earth
4. at this time all men will be begging the rock and mountains to fall on them to hid them from God
4. why do they want to be hid from the face of Jesus Christ – 17
1. this does not sound like the loving God who sits away over yonder in Heaven winking at the wickedness of men, and chuckling at their ungodliness
2. this does not sound like the great - grandfatherly God who will give all men a second chance
3. that does not sound like the God the liberals and the modernists talk about
4. this is the God the BIBLE talks about
5. we believe God is love and we preach the love of God; but we do not preach a one-sided Gospel
6. we preach that God is love, God is merciful and kind; but we also preach "for our GOD is a consuming fire"
5. someone may suggest that such a catastrophe is not feasible, and that God would not send such judgment upon this earth
1. they have forgotten the plagues that came upon Egypt (one of them was darkness)
2. they have forgotten the darkness that came upon the earth when Jesus was crucified
3. many OT prophecies speak of the wrath of this day
6. the hand of Almighty God will shake this earth into a giant convulsion
1. when the day of the judgment becomes a reality, the people in fear and terror will hide in the rocks, and cry for the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of Jesus
2. instead of repenting and crying for mercy and salvation
3. Are you ready for that judgment day?