Tuesday Night Revelation Bible Study
CHAPTER 6
As you may of noticed I have not had a chance to update the blog…yet we have already discussed chapters 4 – 8. I am going to get us caught up…and will start a new blog entry for Chapter9. Thanks again, and hope this helps make these chapters a bit easier to understand.
Chapters 4 through 18 summarize the events
that take place preceding the return of Jesus Christ. Not all of the events
happen chronologically. As we discussed, it is important to note the words ‘like’
and ‘as’ as you read through these chapters. These two words help the reader
understand John’s method of communicating ideas / events / concepts that he
might not have the words to describe. Remember that John is giving a first hand
exposition in terms of what he witnesses. These chapters can be scary, convicting
and at times confusing, but the message is that Christ is returning in victory.
Recap of Chapter 6 (Chapter Notes and
Background)
Numbers are fascinating studies in
Scripture. Each number can clue the reader into more than just the quantity of
an item discussed in the Bible. Take some time and read up on the numbers 6 and
7, links below:
Relationships between specific numbers and
different Biblical concepts are a common theme throughout the Bible. The number
six, for the most part throughout the Bible, represents mankind. Chapter 6 is
essentially about the opening of the first six seals, and the destruction that
occurs on planet earth and the heavens as a result. Is it a coincidence that chapter
6 deals with the first 6 seals? Who knows? Well, God does, but what is fact is
that God’s patience is finally at an end. We will begin to see God’s judgment
fall on all those that reject Christ and choose to continue to live on in
their own strength, refusing to submit to God’s solution for sin by accepting
the saving work of Jesus Christ.
The first four seals that are opened usher
in the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The order of the horsemen and the woes
they bring echo Matthew chapter 24, better known as the Olivet discourse, and the Old Testament book of Daniel.
The horse in ancient times was a war
machine. A reader listening to the book of revelation in the first century
would have understood these four horses and their riders as an offensive war
front, bent on destroying as much of planet earth as possible. The first rider’s
horse is white and has a bow with no arrows. Most scholars believe this rider is
the anti-christ, who will lead many to destruction by a bloodless war or
through peaceful means. In the book of Daniel, the anti-christ helps broker a
deal with the nation of Israel
and their enemies, promising lasting peace for Israel and the world at large.
However, this peace proves to be a false peace, ushering in the abomination of
desolation that Christ specifically mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew. The
abomination of desolation is a point when the anti-christ will proclaim himself
to be God and will seek to destroy all Jewish and Christian ideas and beliefs
about God as set forth in the Old and New Testaments.
The second rider’s horse is red, representing
war. When the anti-christ proclaims himself to be God, the next cataclysm to
follow is world-war.
The third rider’s horse is black,
representing famine. Due to the world-war, food and drink will be scarce. Those who have survived war will now have to face the threat of starvation. It goes from bad to
worse for all those that remain.
The fourth rider’s horse is gray, or pale,
representing death. The toll that war and famine have on earth at this time
results in unimaginable death. The numbers will be staggering. No generation
before this has ever experienced anything close to this world-wide annihilation.
The fifth seal points to the fact that some
going through this time period on earth do find Christ. These martyrs suffer death for
refusing to believe in the anti-christ, putting their faith instead in the true savior of the world: Jesus Christ. Another interesting thing about the fifth seal is that, in Heaven, these
martyrs have not forgotten what they went through. When we think about Heaven,
most picture clouds and harps and inhabitants who don’t really retain their humanity.
Yet the fifth seal reaffirms that we will not only remember, but we too will
thirst even in Heaven for God to restore His creation to Himself.
The wrath of the Lamb seems to be an
oxymoron. Lambs are typically docile, gentle…which is how most picture Christ.
Yet, as we read Revelation we come back to the fact that God is the ‘same
yesterday, today and forever.’ He is still the lamb that takes away the sin of
the world, but also is the One who, through His might, will restore all of
creation to Himself. The sixth seal is by the far the most frightening to read
about. Those remaining on the earth are desperate to hide from His wrath.
Destruction will be total.
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