Chapter 6 reveals to us what believers will experience in the last days. Only at the end of chapter 6 is there an announcement that the wrath of God is about to take place. Believers are not appointed for wrath, but to obtain salvation (1 Thessalonians 5v9). We will go through trials and tribulation but will not go through the wrath of God. 

The things that the prophets only saw at a distance we can see very accurately through the book of Revelation. 35 The four horseman work together – they all have the same purpose. 

The horseman have nothing to do with the work of Messiah (not even the first one on the white horse). The only connection that Messiah has with them is to speak the words, of this scroll, into being and therefore orchestrate the events that will take place. (These things have to take place, because of the rebelliousness of man and their unwillingness to surrender to spiritual truth. – Luke 21v9) God will act in such a way that it will be very clear that people are saying ‘No’ to God. 

There will be no room for them to say: ‘I didn’t know’ or ‘I didn’t understand’. 

Chapter 6 takes place after the battle found in Daniel chapter 8v19-26. A beast from the East (Media and Persia) will rise up and cause havoc, and the world will say ‘we have no helper’. Another beast (antichrist) will rise up, from the West, and destroy the one out of the East. 

People will think evil has been dealt with and ‘peace and safety’ are here, and then sudden destruction. (1 Thessalonians 5v3) What we see in Revelation 6 is the work of the antichrist. His power and authority are released into the world for a limited amount of time. 

The rapture will not take place until we, as believers, see the revealing of this man of sin. (2 Thessalonians 2v3-4) 

Verse 1: “And I saw when the Lamb opened up the first of the seven seals…” These seals are going to make life very difficult on the Earth – suffering, hardship, tragedies – getting worse and worse. 

BUT Messiah is in control! He is speaking these things in being, not because He wants them but because they have to take place, in order for His will and Kingdom to be established. 

Verse 1: “And I looked; and when the Lamb opened up the first of the seven seals I heard one of the four living creatures speaking, in a voice like thunder, saying: ‘Come, and look.’” 

This is an invitation to come and see what the future (as told to the prophets) holds. Are we willing and interested enough to respond to this invitation? (Hosea 4v6) Responding involves moving, from the position we are in, and seeing things from a new perspective. 

It is only when we know what to expect that we can prepare ourselves properly. What we encounter, in this chapter, is not the wrath of God, but a part of the tribulation that believers, in the last days, have been called to endure as they go through it. (Matthew 24v13). 

Verse 2: “I looked, and behold a white horse! The one who sat upon it a bow was in his hand. And it was given to him a crown and he went forth, conquering on account that he should conquer.” 

Although white means purity, it can also mean ‘conquering’ (When someone acknowledges that they have been conquered they raise a white flag to show submission). 

A bow is a weapon which was used in conquest. 

This phrase ‘conquer’ is repeated, showing emphasis, and leaving no doubt, in our minds, as to what this horseman’s purpose is.

The world is going to be brought into submission by this first rider. 

He is a conqueror. He takes control by removing all opposition. He also takes control in order to shed blood (He conquers a fourth of the Earth – 6v8). 

Verse 3: “And when He opened up the second seal, I heard the second creature saying: ‘Come and look.’” 

Verse 4: “And the second horse went out. He was red. And to the one who sat upon him was given to remove peace from the earth, on account that a man should kill his brother. And there was given to him a great sword.” 

Red has to do with bloodshed or war. He is going to remove peace from the earth and is going to kill people with the great sword in his hand. 

Verse 5: “And when He opened up the third seal, I heard the third creature saying: ‘Come and look.’ And I looked and behold a black horse! And the one who rode upon him had scales in his hand.” 

Black speaks of death. Famine and pestilence cause death. Scales were used to weigh things to find out how much they were worth. 

Verse 6: “And I heard what seemed to be a voice, in the midst of the four living creatures, saying: ‘A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius, but the oil and the wine do not harm.’” 

A measure of wheat is not a large amount of wheat. A denarius is a normal man’s daily wage. 

This verse reveals to us that a full day’s work will be required to earn a small portion of food. 

The price of food is going to soar. This usually happens in times of famine or pestilence. 

Oil is synonymous with the Holy Spirit. He will still be functioning and moving, amongst His people, throughout these difficult times. 

The wine also remains unchanged. Wine, in the Scripture, is synonymous with joy. Our joy is not based upon our circumstances but rooted in our relationship with Messiah Yeshua. 

Verse 7: “And when He opened up the fourth seal, I heard the fourth creature saying: ‘Come and look.’” 

Verse 8: “And I looked and behold a greenish horse! And the one who sat upon him, his name was Death; and Sheol (hell) followed after him. And it was given to him rule (1st horseman) over a fourth of the Earth to kill with a sword (2nd horseman) with famine, with pestilence and with the beasts of the earth (3rd horseman).” 

In Jeremiah 30v5-6, the men, who are in excruciating pain, have a face with a greenish hue. 

This greenish horse is being ridden by a rider named “Death”. Death is NEVER synonymous with God (John 10v10). We are told that this fourth rider comes out of hell. 

These seals and horsemen are NOT an outpouring of the wrath of God. They are NOT the judgements of God. What we see here is satanic persecution. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we will not go through satanic persecution. 

Messiah had to endure it when satan moved against Him. In the same way, satan will move against us, causing us to be hated by the world (Matthew 10v22). 

All the horsemen are connected to each other. They are all rooted in satan. Satan is bringing about a lot of change to the Earth. There is going to come a day when extremism is no longer going to be tolerated and the antichrist will seek to stomp it out for a religion based on “tolerance”. 

Believing in Messiah Yeshua, and in the Bible, will cause us to be labelled “extremist”.  

Verse 9: “When He opened up the fifth seal, I saw, underneath the altar, the souls that were slain – on account of the Word of God and on account of the testimony which they had.” 

Altars are a place of sacrifice or death. Many people are going to be martyred. (Matthew 24v9) These people are believers, those who value the Word of God (Scripture) and live out the truths found in it. 

Verse 10: “And they cried out, in a great voice, and they said: ‘How long, O L-rd, Holy and True until You judge and avenge our blood from those who dwell upon the Earth?’” 

‘dwell upon the Earth’: see explanation in Revelation 3v10; their allegiance is to the Earth – to the antichrist. 

Verse 11: “And it was given to each one of them a white garment. And it was said unto them to rest a little while longer – until the full number of their fellow servants, and their brothers, who would be killed like them.” 

‘Be killed like them’ – this is yet future. Up to this point, the wrath of God has not even been alluded to. The first announcement, of its imminence, is with the sixth seal (6v16); although, even then, it still remains on the horizon. 

All of these first five seals have to do with satanic persecution and are not an outcome of God’s wrath