It is important to remember that the Book of Revelation like the rest of the Bible was not originally subdivided into verses and chapters. D&C 6-9 Commentary & Questions: Patterns of Revelation admin January 24, 2021 no Comments . This altar has the OT sacrifices in view. This, When Jesus returns in judgment, He will rain down fire upon the unbelievers of the world (Rev 16; Rev 20:7-10), perhaps in the form of, The earth at this point will be completely covered in smoke, which would give the sun the appearance of being, As described in verses 15-17, when judgment begins, all the people of the world will try to run for safety, seeking protection wherever they can find it — but finding none. The same cannot be said about the trumpets and plagues. Given that this book covers the entire Church age, I believe this has to be about the one thing that “conquers” all, and that’s the truth of Christ. i. i. This describes the judgment of the world when Christ returns. The opening of the seventh seal is recorded in chapter 8. And the name of him who sat on it was Death: This last rider shows that there will be a tremendous death toll from the dictatorship, war, famine and other calamities described by the previous three horsemen. We may request cookies to be set on your device. That span begins with the revelation of the Antichrist (the first seal) and it concludes with the revealing of the face of Him who sits on the throne (the seventh seal). 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. (Rev 6:1-2) – 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come. This is, directly or indirectly, the judgment of God. d. He went out conquering and to conquer: Taking this to be the final satanic dictator over men, we see that he will be more terrible than all previous dictators were. Someone gave him a crown.He had fought many people and he had won. This is especially true of those who are martyred for their faith. 1. A true faith will endure. So then, what this seal reveals is that God won’t allow mankind to annihilate themselves. Who had been slain for the word of God: It is probably best to see this as the cry of all martyrs for God’s truth, not merely believers persecuted by the coming world leader, the first horseman of Revelation 6:1-2. c. And they cried with a loud voice: These souls in heaven cried out for vengeance (until You judge and avenge our blood). Revelation 6:6. We hope you enjoy this commentary on D&C 6-9. And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. b. This commentary on Revelation will prove, contrary to what most people think, that the Revelation, the last book of the Bible, is not difficult to understand if we will take a simple, face-value, common-sense approach to interpreting it. No wonder Jesus said of this time For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. A common interpretation of this white horse is that it refers to the Antichrist, but one can only come to such an interpretation if one has a position to support — in this case, Premillennialism. David Aune’s massive commentary on the book of Revelation is another that should be consulted by every serious student of Scripture. When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. No, the “brethren who should be killed even as they were,” will not be “fulfilled” or completed until every martyred saint throughout the Christian era is in the presence of the Lord — which occurs at the time of the resurrection. Words in boxes are from the Bible. (Rev 6:5-6) – 5 And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. c. Behold, a white horse: If one were to take their interpretive clues more from cowboy movies than from the Bible, it would be easy to believe the rider on the white horse is Jesus. (Revelation 6:9-11 NIV) This is a difficult paragraph to understand because it is dealing with a phenomenon hard for us to grasp, i.e., how people can die over the course of a period of time and yet all arrive in heaven together. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. b. on StudyLight.org He is the one often called the antichrist. Jesus Himself is shown to return on a, Following the pattern of the NT, particularly of this book, the only reasonable and consistent interpretation one can come to is that the rider of this white horse has to be the Lord Jesus Christ. The actual culmination will be detailed in Revelation 19. ii. I say that having spent almost 3 years leading Precept classes on Daniel and Revelation, during which time I logged over 2000 hours of study and preparation (this is not to impress you but to give you some perspective on my statement that Garland's work is … Quite obviously, all the martyrs of Christ throughout history could not fit “underneath the altar.” Therefore, this altar and those underneath it, is merely symbolic or representative of all those who die for their faith in Christ. Reference to the “bow” without an arrow, even suggests that this is not a physical weapon one uses to win battles between men and nations. He still holds the scroll and opens the seals. © Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . This describes the end of the world when Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, and defeats His enemies. Considering the fact that the world is full of nuclear weapons, and considering the description of verse 14 and Rev 16, I think it’s quite possible that when Jesus rains down fire upon the earth, it will result in the explosions of these weapons all around the world. (Zephaniah 1:14-16). b. c. As far as the seals are concerned, they will be an intense amplification of bad conditions often experienced through history. Revelation 6:14 - The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (1 Corinthians 15:1), c. Testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. The Seals. The judgment is all the more profound because it is the wrath of the Lamb. And I heard 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 the wine.”. (1-2) The white horse brings a man of conquest. Revelation is meant to bring comfort for all Christians, of what we have to look forward to in eternity. Warfare of this type has always been throughout history. Then I saw = is a very important linking phrase used thirty-three times throughout the book of Revelation. A black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand: The scales symbolized the need to carefully measure and ration food. His reign shall not bring war, famine, and strife in its train.” (Jennings). Or perhaps via nuclear explosions, using mankind against themselves (believers will already be resurrected, both the dead and the living). Some have seen in them an indication that while wheat and barley are priced almost out of the reach of the poor, the rich still have their oil and wine. If one looks at all the references given in the New Testament where white is mentioned, the idea that this could refer to such a one as an antichrist or evil of any kind, is completely out of harmony with what white is shown to represent. Those who regard these events as history have to greatly spiritualize them. It is not the natural state of relations between men. Though all hell breaks loose on the earth, God is very much in control. ii. For those who rest in Christ, whether it be for 2000 years or 2 days, it’s all the same: “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pe 3:8). Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. “It is worthy of remark that the opening of the seals is not merely a declaration of what God will do, but is the exhibition of a purpose then accomplished; for whenever the seal is opened, the sentence appears to be executed.” (Clarke). It has been well said that all history is tinged … The writer of this book simply calls himself John. Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. John then sees a rider on a white horse, wearing a crown and carrying a bow. 6 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. Revelation 6:9-17 – Opening Seals 5-6; In this section of Scripture, we see the next two seals being broken, seals 5 and 6. It symbolizes both our purity in Christ (salvation) and of faithfulness — referring to those who “conquer” (Rev 2:17; Rev 3:4,18). Along with warfare, this is something else that has always been and will continue to the very end of the world. The period of time John will be observing in Revelation is also spoken of in the prophecies of Daniel and by Jesus in the Olivet discourse (Mat chapters 24-25). i. (3) The identification of “oil and wine” as pertaining to the rich only is unsound. “The whole context and character of these seals absolutely forbid our thinking of this rider being the Lord Jesus, as so many affirm. 14 And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand? Thus what’s revealed by the rider on this horse is that warfare between men and nations will continue until the end of the world, up to the time of Christ’s return. A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius: These prices are about twelve times higher than normal. This commentary has been through Advanced Checking. on StudyLight.org 4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Therefore, I think it’s unreasonable that one group of martyrs would be singled out and elevated above all others who have suffered and died for the name of Christ over the past 2000 years — up to this present time, and still counting. This chapter describes the opening of the first six of the seven seals. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out … I would also recommend the Precept inductive study on Daniel (Click Daniel 1-6 - Living Out a Biblical Worldview or Daniel 7-12 -Gaining Understanding of the Time of the End) (Click here for links to commentaries on Daniel) because the truths in the book of the Revelation have their foundation in the prophesy in Daniel. When God’s people are persecuted, He will set it right. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. However, the “white horse” of this first seal is not about the return of Christ. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. It is clear that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—the first four seals—parallel Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24:4-8, which ends with the words, "All these are the beginning of sorrows. a. I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God: That these souls were under the altar emphasizes that their life blood was poured out as an offering to God. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth: It is best to regard these pictures as real, but poetic. b. As one reads further on in this book Jesus already has and wears many crowns on his head ( Rev 19:12). Bible > Bible Commentary; John Darby’s Synopsis; Revelation; Revelation 6; John Darby’s Synopsis << Revelation 5 | Revelation 6 | Revelation 7 >> (Read all of Revelation 6) What is to follow on earth now begins, when the seals are opened. a. Revelation 6:1 (1) Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of (2) the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, (3) "Come." Apparently, they’re made aware that Jesus is who He said He was — the Son of God and Savior of the world. 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