For those of you who have had the privilege to join us on Thursday nights, you’ve been exposed to the power of prayer and hopefully been encouraged to develop a deeper prayer life both personally and corporately. But perhaps nowhere else in the Scriptures do we see the power of prayer demonstrated more clearly than we will see this morning in Revelation chapter 6. So go ahead and open your Bibles to that chapter and be ready to follow along as we examine that passage together this morning.
The six seals which we’ll see in chapter 6 begin a more in depth look at the three series of seven that we previewed with a broad overview last week. Again this week, I want to caution us not to get so bogged down in all the details that we miss the big picture.
In this passage, John sees the Lamb, Jesus, open the first six seals. But before we get to the detail of those seals, we need to step back and look at the bigger picture because that is the key for us as we attempt to apply this passage to our day to day lives.
KEY PRINCIPLE
The opening of each seal is accompanied by prayer
• First four seals – “Come!”
The opening of each of the first four seals is accompanied by one of the four living creatures saying “Come!” But to whom do the living creatures address this request? There are three possibilities:
o To John?
Some translations translate the request “Come and see”, which makes it appear that John is begin addressed here. Unfortunately those translations are based on inferior underlying texts. In the first verse of chapter 4, John had already been commanded to “come up here” at which point he describes himself as being “in the Spirit”. So there is no need to call John to come and see at this point.
The only other place in Revelation where John is commanded to come and see what God wants to reveal to him is in Revelation 17:1 and there, as well as in chapter 4, John uses a completely different Greek word for “come” than the one spoken by the four living creatures here in chapter 6. So it seems very unlikely that the request to “come” is directed to John.
o To the horse and/or its rider?
The second possibility is that the four living creatures are calling out to the four horses and or the riders of those horses. But if you read the text carefully, you will find that at least three of the four horses don’t come in response to the words spoken by the living creatures. The first, third and fourth horses merely appear. John merely says, “I looked and behold…” Only the second horse is described in any way as “coming”. In verse 4 it reads “And out came another horse…”
But the even bigger question is this: why would the four living creatures call the four horsemen who, as we’ll see in a moment, represent forces that would destroy creation? At a minimum, the idea that the request to “come’ is addressed to the four horsemen raises some serious questions.
o To Jesus
The third possibility is that the request to “come” is addressed to the Lamb, Jesus. Given the context of this passage as well as the rest of the book of Revelation, this seems to be the most likely scenario.
Let’s begin by going back to the last time we saw the four living creatures:
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:8 (ESV)
Here the living creatures are holding the golden bowls which contain the prayers of the saints. So it seems that it is at least possible that the prayer to “come” in chapter 6 could be the four living creatures delivering the prayers of the saints.
If that is all we had, that would be pretty flimsy evidence, but let’s look at how else this request to “come” is used elsewhere in Revelation.
Since the entire book of Revelation is focused on the coming of Jesus, we shouldn’t be surprised that it is bookended with the claim that Jesus is coming. John opens the book with this description of Jesus:
Behold, he is coming…
Revelation 1:7 (ESV)
And then in the last chapter, we find that Jesus makes that same claim about Himself twice:
And behold, I am coming soon…
Revelation 22:7 (ESV)
Behold, I am coming soon…
Revelation 22:12 (ESV)
Notice that in all three cases, the verb is in the present, and not the future tense. As we’ve pointed out frequently, the coming of Jesus and His kingdom is an ongoing process that began with His death and resurrection and which will culminate with His physical return to the earth. That is completely consistent with how Jesus is continually referred to in Revelation as the one “who is, and who was, and who is to come”. As I’ve pointed out before, the phrase “is to come” is actually a present tense participle which literally means “the one who is coming.”
Since the whole book of Revelation revolves around the coming of Jesus, it certainly seems at least possible that a request to “come” would somehow be associated with the coming of Jesus and His kingdom. But there is one more piece of the puzzle that makes that association even more likely.
There are only three other instances in Revelation, where we find the exact same form of the verb “come”. All are in the last chapter of the book:
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price… He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:17, 20 (ESV)
All three requests to “come” are very clearly addressed to Jesus and associated with his coming.
So although it’s not totally clear if the prayers to “come” associated with the first four seals are the prayers of the saints being delivered by the four living creatures or whether they are the prayers of those creatures, it seems quite likely that they are prayers directed to Jesus, calling for Him to fulfill His promise to come. This is the very same prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray:
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10 (ESV)
• Fifth seal – “…how long…”
There is little doubt that this prayer of the saints under the altar is directly related to the prayer for Jesus to “come”. As we’ll see in a moment, the prayer to “come” unleashes powerful forces of evil that not only impact unbelievers, but also result in tribulation and even death for God’s children.
• Sixth seal – the prayer of the unbelievers
It is not just God’s children who pray. Even the unbelievers pray – not to God, but instead to His creation. Even though they recognize that all the events portrayed by these seals are from the hand of God, they still refuse to repent and turn to Jesus.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE PRAY
Obviously the believers and the four living creatures are not praying for violence or famine or earthquakes or death. But what this passage demonstrates is that when we begin to pray for Jesus’ kingdom to come, things happen and most of those things are not pleasant at all. As one commentator puts it:
The kingdom begins to break in, changing things, upsetting the status quo, unmasking idols, flushing out evil…and meeting resistance. And the followers of the Lamb get caught in the crunch.
[Darrell W. Johnson – discipleship in the Edge]
The first four seals, commonly referred to as the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”, represent the kinds of events that occur as Jesus and His kingdom come. The imagery of four horses of different colors going throughout the earth comes from passages in Zechariah 1 and 6, although there the colors of the horses don’t seem to have much significance and the horses don’t bring disaster upon the earth.
The events portrayed by these four horsemen also run parallel to the words of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 as Jesus described the events that would take place prior to His return.
Let’s take a brief look at each of the first six seals:
1. First seal – false Christs who desire to conquer (vv. 1, 2)
Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
Some commentators have claimed that the rider on the white horse is Jesus, associating this horse and rider with Jesus coming on a white horse in Revelation 19. However, other than the fact that both riders are on white horses, there is really very little reason to conclude that this is Jesus. In Revelation 19 Jesus has a sharp sword, not a bow and He has many diadems on His head. A diadem is a crown of authority. The crown on the rider of the white horse here in Revelation has is a “stephanos” crown, which is a crown given to a victor, usually in athletic contests, but also as a sign of conquest.
It is significant that the crown is “given” to the rider on the white horse here. Not only is that a picture of the sovereignty of God in this whole process, but it also confirms that this could not be Jesus since He would not need anyone to give him a crown.
However the similarities to the way Jesus is pictured in chapter 19 do remind us that evil often masquerades as light in order to attempt to conquer. Here’s how Paul described these kinds of people:
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14 (ESV)
As Jesus described the events that would take place before His return, He begins by warning about those who would try to imitate Him in order to conquer and obtain power.
And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.
Matthew 24:4, 5 (ESV)
2. Second seal – war (vv. 3, 4)
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
The attempt to conquer invariably leads to war. Researcher Matthew White estimates that in the 20th century there were 165 wars in which more than 6,000 people died and that the total number of people killed in all wars in that century is approximately 180 million.
Again, the sovereignty of God is on display here. The rider of the red horse must be “permitted” to take peace from the earth in order to carry out these events.
As Jesus continues to describe the events that will precede His return, the next event he mentions is war:
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…
Matthew 24:6, 7 (ESV)
3. Third seal – famine (vv. 5, 6)
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be 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 wine!”
Some background is in order here. A denarius was approximately a day’s wage and a quart of wheat would be the amount needed for one day’s supply of wheat. So this describes a situation in which someone would have to work a whole day to get enough wheat to eat for that day. Or they could try to stretch their budget and buy three quarts of the less nutritious and less costly barley. This was probably 10-12 times the normal price for these grains. This is a picture in which food becomes so scarce that it causes great famine.
One again God demonstrates His sovereignty by limiting the extent of the famine and prohibiting the horseman from damaging the oil and wine.
As Jesus continues His discourse, the next event to occur before His return is famines:
…and there will be famines…
Matthew 24:7 (ESV)
4. Fourth seal – death (vv. 7, 8)
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
The fourth seal is really a summary of the first three. The conquest, war and famine will all lead to death, as pictured by the horse that is the color of a corpse. In addition to the sword and famine which have already been pictured by the red and black horses, the fourth seal also adds pestilence and wild beasts, probably based on this Old Testament passage:
For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
Ezekiel 14:21 (ESV)
Both pestilence and wild beasts attacking people would be natural consequences of war and famine.
But once again, we see that God is in control. Not only does He have to give the rider on the pale horse authority in order to kill, but He limits the effects to one fourth of the earth. The mention of death and Hades reminds us of the words of Jesus from the first chapter of Revelation:
…I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Revelation 1:18 (ESV)
Although everything may look like it is out of control, Jesus assures us that He is the one who holds authority over both physical and spiritual death.
5. Fifth seal – martyrdom (vv. 9-11)
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 witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
The fifth seal is a further confirmation that Christ followers are not immune to the effects of the first four seals. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone because Jesus, as He continued His discourse in Matthew 24 makes it clear that believers would experience tribulation and death prior to His return:
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death…
Matthew 24:9 (ESV)
Paul also confirmed this as he preached in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch:
…and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Acts 14:22 (ESV)
The souls of those who had been slain as a result of holding to the Word of God and being a witness for Jesus are under the altar. That is a picture of the fact that the death of Christ followers is considered by God to be a priestly, sacrificial act. It is also under the altar that they are made righteous and pure by the blood of the Lamb.
It is also significant that it is the souls of the believers under the altar. These believers have not yet received their resurrection bodies.
I think that most of us can really relate to the prayer of these saints. We look around at the wickedness, pain, suffering and evil in the world around us and we’re ready to join in the chorus – “how long?” But there is a sense in which this prayer seems so out of place. After all, didn’t Jesus tell us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us?
But if we’re really honest, much of the time, we really feel like praying more like this…
[Show “Pray for You” video]
But that’s not what is going on here. These martyred souls are not merely seeking to avenge their own deaths, but they know that God’s complete judgment must be poured out on the unbelieving world before Jesus can return to the earth and establish His permanent, earthly kingdom. Their request flows not from the concern about their own personal welfare, but rather out of concern for the reputation of God. Their prayer is merely a continuation of the prayers that we saw with the first four seals for Jesus to “come.”
And I love how God answers their prayer, don’t you? First, He gives them all white robes. As we’ve seen throughout Revelation already, white robes are a picture of blessedness and purity. So God gives each of them a white robe to assure them that they are pure in His sight because of their faith in Jesus. It is a symbol of His promise that their salvation is secure.
And then God assures them again of His sovereign control over these events. There are still going to be more believers that will give their lives for Jesus before God draws this whole process to an end. But there is indeed an end. As we saw when we discussed the “hamas” violence described by the Old Testament prophets, there is a level of that kind of violence, known only to God, at which point repentance is no longer possible and God’s final wrath will be poured out. That same idea is expressed here in terms of the number of martyrs that will one day be “complete.” Again, only God knows what that number is, but the important fact for those martyred saints, and for us, is that all of this is under the control of a sovereign God and we can take comfort in that even in the midst of trials and tribulation.
6. Sixth seal – cosmic disturbances (vv. 12-14)
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
We looked at this sixth seal in some detail last week, so we won’t spend much time here. As you’ll remember from last week, the cosmic disturbances associated with the sixth seal were described by the prophet Joel and also confirmed by the words of Jesus as He continues His discourse in Matthew 24:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Matthew 24:29 (ESV)
IMPLICATIONS FOR US
1. Praying for Jesus’ kingdom to come has serious consequences
When we pray for Jesus’ kingdom to come, it sets into motion a series of events that have serious consequences. And, as we saw last week, those consequences are not relegated to some seven year time period in the future. We don’t have to look hard at all to see that our world is impacted by false Christs, conquest, war, famine and pestilence right here and now.
In just a moment, I’m going to share with you the three possible responses that we can choose in light of this reality.
2. God uses the same events for both judicial and redemptive purposes
I’m not going to spend much time on this principle because we’ve addressed it frequently throughout both the Old Testament prophets and in Revelation. There is absolutely no evidence that Christ-followers are spared in any way from the events that are set in motion by the coming of Jesus’ kingdom. They face false Christs, war, famine, pestilence and death, just like everyone else.
But these same events serve different purposes in the lives of believers and unbelievers. For the believer, the response to these events serves as a witness of the genuineness of their faith and indentifies them to the world as true Christ followers.
For the unbelievers, these events serve as a witness to the holiness and justice of God and provide an opportunity for repentance and redemption. But for those who refuse to repent, those very same events become God’s judgment upon their lives.
3. Each person must choose how to respond to these events. We can choose:
• Fight
The first natural response to the evil that is unleashed by the coming of Jesus’ kingdom is to try and fight against it. This takes all kinds of different forms. Some try to fight against evil through the use of force. Others fight through the political process and suppose that they can somehow legislate morality and goodness. Others believe that they can fight against these consequences through education or social services. But the problem is that none of those methods of fighting address the root issue of man’s sinful nature.
Even well-meaning Christians can get caught up in these efforts to fight. Certainly I’m not advocating that we don’t get involved in the political process, or that we don’t try to educate others or to meet their needs. But what I am concerned about are those who are spending much more of their time and energy to fight against these evils in this temporary world than they are preparing people for eternity.
At the risk of stepping on some toes here, including mine, let me share my heart for just a moment. I’m really concerned about those who are spending more time sending out emails about political issues than they are reading their Bibles. I’m concerned about those who are spending more time and energy trying to get some politician elected or some bill passed than they are praying for their family members, neighbors and friends who don’t know Jesus. I’m concerned about those who spend more time listening to talk radio than they do developing others into mature disciples of Jesus.
• Flight
This is the response that we find in the last three verses of Chapter 6:
Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Even though the people recognized that all these events came from the hand of God and from the Lamb, Jesus, They chose to flee rather than to respond to Jesus in faith. Notice that they don’t even pray to God – they address their pleas to the mountains and the rocks. They would rather be crushed to death than to come face to face with a holy God.
Unfortunately, that’s how a lot of people, even those who call themselves Christians, attempt to deal with the consequences of the coming of Jesus’ kingdom. Even genuine Christ-followers can be tempted to follow this approach, at least to a degree.
One way we could do that is to just quit praying. After all, we rationalize, if all these consequences are a result of the coming of Jesus’ kingdom, then maybe it will delay the coming of His kingdom and these associated events if I just quit praying. But obviously that is not how God wants us to respond.
Perhaps more often, the choice to flee takes place in the form of isolation. While we need to be discerning in our associations and in what we watch and read and hear, we need to avoid the temptation to completely isolate ourselves from the world. The fact is, no matter how hard we may try, we can never completely insulate ourselves from the effects of the coming of Jesus’ kingdom. So unfortunately the end result of isolation is that we not only fail to protect ourselves from the consequences of evil in our world, but we also become completely ineffective as witnesses for Jesus.
• Faith
Obviously, this is the response that God is looking for. Like the souls of the saints under the altar, we are to rest in Jesus. So in faith, we continue to pray for Jesus to come. In faith, we keep on living our lives each day, focusing our time, resources and energy on those things that are eternal. In faith, we trust that God is sovereign and that one day He will judge evil and give justice to His children.
That is the main focus of the parable of the persistent widow, which ends with these words of Jesus:
And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Luke 18:7, 8 (ESV)
That is the question that Jesus is still asking all of us today – When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
