Let’s see what happens as Jesus opens the first six seals of the mysterious scroll.
1st Seal - White Horse
Revelation 6:1-2 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
The white horse is commonly seen as the conquest of Roman imperialism, various antichrist figures, or warfare in general. Some include Christ and the Gospel in that warfare as He conquers evil and through Him, the church is triumphant, overcoming spiritual battles.
2nd Seal - Red Horse
Revelation 6:3-4 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
The red horse seems to symbolize variously the bloodshed caused by the Roman system, and all similar systems of human oppression throughout history, and the persecution of Christians.
3rd Seal - Black Horse
Revelation 6:5-6 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
The black horse seems to symbolize variously the deprivation caused by the failure of all human economic systems and the famines caused by warfare.
4th Seal - Pale Horse
Revelation 6:7-8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
The pale horse clearly symbolizes death and Hades, and a large percentage of people dying by various means. These first four seals symbolize the woes that accompany believers living in this world.
5th Seal - Martyrs
Revelation 6:9-11 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
These are the martyrs of the Christian faith past, present and future, pictured as under the altar, where the blood of sacrifices was spilled.
6th Seal - Cosmic Signs
Revelation 6:12-14 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
A preterist view of this is a societal earthquake and the shake up of political leaders pictured by sun, moon and stars in the fall of Jerusalem. An historical view might include the fall of pagan Rome to Christianity, and a futurist view might see these catastrophic signs right before the Second Coming. The symbolic or spiritual view can see all these as valid facets of the struggle between good and evil.
Revelation 6:15-17 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
This clearly moves the emphasis from any forerunners or prototypes, such as a preterist view of the fall of Jerusalem, or an historical view of the conquest of Rome by Christianity in Constantine’s time, to its final fulfillment at the Second Coming. These ideas pale into insignificance compared to their final fulfillment at Christ’s return.
All these are the beginning of woes, yet they also herald a great day in human history, that Jesus is coming back. Let's not live by fear, but see these things as harbingers of great news.
