Text -- Revelation 6:1-17 (NET)

The Seven Seals

6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, “Come!” 6:2 So I looked, and here came a white horse! The one who rode it had a bow, and he was given a crown, and as a conqueror he rode out to conquer. 6:3 Then when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 6:4 And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword. 6:5 Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand. 6:6 Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” 6:7 Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 6:8 So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth. 6:9 Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 6:10 They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been. 6:12 Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red; 6:13 and the stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a fierce wind. 6:14 The sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 6:17 because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Rev 6:1

And I saw ( kai eidon ).

As in Rev 4:1; Rev 5:1. The vision unfolds without anything being said about opening the book and reading from it. In a more vivid and dramatic fashion the Lamb breaks the seals one by one and reveals the contents and the symbolism. The first four seals have a common note from one of the four zōa and the appearance of a horse. No effort will be made here to interpret these seals as referring to persons or historical events in the past, present, or future, but simply to relate the symbolism to the other symbols in the book. It is possible that there is some allusion here to the symbolism in the so-called "Little Apocalypse"of Mark 13; Matt 24 and the following chapters; and Luke 21. The imagery of the four horses is similar to that in Zec 1:7-11; Zec 6:1-8 (cf. Jer 14:12; Jer 24:10; Jer 42:17). In the Old Testament the horse is often the emblem of war (Job 39:25; Psa 76:6; Pro 21:31; Eze 26:10). "Homer pictures the horses of Rhesus as whiter than snow, and swift as the wind"(Vincent).

Robertson: Rev 6:1

When the Lamb opened ( hote ēnoixen to arnion ).

First aorist active indicative of anoigō . This same phrase recurs in rhythmical order at the opening of each seal (Rev 6:1, Rev 6:3, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:7, Rev 6:9, Rev 6:12) till the last (Rev 8:1), where we have hotan ēnoixen (hotan rather than hote calling particular attention to it).

Robertson: Rev 6:1

One ( mian ).

Probably used here as an ordinal (the first) as in Mat 28:1. See Robertson, Grammar , p. 671f.

Robertson: Rev 6:1

Of ( ek ).

This use of ek with the ablative in the partitive sense is common in the Apocalypse, as twice in this verse (ek tōn , etc.). So henos ek tōn (one of the four living creatures) is "the first of,"etc.

Robertson: Rev 6:1

In a voice of thunder ( en phōnēi brontēs ).

Old word used of John and James (Mar 3:17) and elsewhere in N.T. only Joh 12:29 and a dozen times in the Apocalypse.

Robertson: Rev 6:1

Come ( Erchou ).

Present middle imperative of erchomai , but with exclamatory force (not strictly linear). The command is not addressed to the Lamb nor to John (the correct text omits kai ide "and see") as in Rev 17:1; Rev 21:9, but to one of the four horsemen each time. Swete takes it as a call to Christ because erchou is so used in Rev 22:17, Rev 22:20, but that is not conclusive.

Robertson: Rev 6:2

And I saw and behold ( kai eidon kai idou ).

This combination is frequent in the Apocalypse (Rev 4:1; Rev 6:2, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:8; Rev 14:1, Rev 14:14; Rev 19:11).

Robertson: Rev 6:2

A white horse ( hippos leukos ).

In Zec 6:1-8 we have red, black, white, and grizzled bay horses like the four winds of heaven, ministers to do God’ s will. White seems to be the colour of victory (cf. the white horse of the Persian Kings) like the white horse ridden by the Roman conqueror in a triumphant procession.

Robertson: Rev 6:2

Had ( echōn ).

Agreeing in gender and case with ho kathēmenos .

Robertson: Rev 6:2

A bow ( toxon ).

Old word (Zec 9:13. of a great bow), here only in N.T.

Robertson: Rev 6:2

Was given ( edothē ).

First aorist passive indicative of didōmi .

Robertson: Rev 6:2

A crown ( stephanos ).

See note on Rev 4:4 for this word.

Robertson: Rev 6:2

He came forth ( exēlthen ).

Second aorist active indicative of exerchomai , either to come out or to go out (went forth).

Robertson: Rev 6:2

Conquering ( nikōn ).

Present active participle of nikaō .

Robertson: Rev 6:2

And to conquer ( kai hina nikēsēi ).

Purpose clause with hina and the first aorist active subjunctive of nikaō . Here hōs nikēsōn (future active participle with hōs ) could have been used. The aorist tense here points to ultimate victory. Commentators have been busy identifying the rider of the white horse according to their various theories. "It is tempting to identify him with the Rider on the white horse in Rev 19:11., whose name is ‘ the Word of God’ "(Swete). Tempting, "but the two riders have nothing in common beyond the white horse.

Robertson: Rev 6:3

The second seal ( tēn sphragida tēn deuteran ).

"The seal the second."The white horse with his rider vanished from the scene bent on his conquering career.

Robertson: Rev 6:4

A red horse ( hippos purros ).

Old adjective from pur (fire), flame-coloured, blood-red (2Ki 3:22), in N.T. only here and Rev 12:3, like Zec 1:8; Zec 6:2 (roan horse).

Robertson: Rev 6:4

To take peace from the earth ( labein tēn eirēnēn ek tēs gēs ).

Second aorist active infinitive of lambanō , and here the nominative case, the subject of edothē (see Rev 6:2), "to take peace out of the earth."Alas, how many red horses have been ridden through the ages.

Robertson: Rev 6:4

And that they should slay one another ( kai hina allēlous sphaxousin ).

Epexegetical explanatory purpose clause with hina and the future active of sphazō (Rev 5:6) instead of the more usual subjunctive (Rev 6:2). Cf. Robertson, Grammar , p. 998f. This is what war does to perfection, makes cannon fodder (cf. Joh 14:27) of men.

Robertson: Rev 6:4

A great sword ( machaira megalē ).

Machaira may be a knife carried in a sheath at the girdle (Joh 18:10) or a long sword in battle as here. Romphaia , also a large sword, is the only other word for sword in the N.T. (Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12, Rev 2:16; Rev 6:8; Rev 19:15, Rev 19:21).

Robertson: Rev 6:5

A black horse ( hippos melas ).

Lust of conquest brings bloodshed, but also famine and hunger. "The colour of mourning and famine. See Jer 4:28; Jer 8:21; Mal 3:14, where mournfully is, literally, in black"(Vincent).

Robertson: Rev 6:5

Had ( echōn )

as in Rev 6:2.

Robertson: Rev 6:5

A balance ( zugon ).

Literally, a yoke (old word from zeugnumi , to join), of slavery (Act 15:10; Gal 5:1), of teaching (Mat 11:29), of weight or measure like a pair of scales evenly balancing as here (Eze 5:1; Eze 45:10). The rider of this black horse, like the spectral figure of hunger, carries in his hand a pair of scales. This is also one of the fruits of war.

Robertson: Rev 6:6

As it were a voice ( hōs phōnēn ).

"This use of hōs , giving a certain vagueness or mysteriousness to a phrase, is one of the characteristics of the writer’ s style, e.g., Rev 8:1; Rev 14:3; Rev 19:1, Rev 19:6"(Beckwith). This voice comes from the midst of the four living creatures, "the protest of nature against the horrors of famine"(Swete).

Robertson: Rev 6:6

A measure ( choinix ).

Old word for less than a quart with us, here only in N.T.

Robertson: Rev 6:6

Of wheat ( sitou ).

Old word for wheat, a number of times in N.T., in Rev only here and Rev 18:13. This was enough wheat to keep a man of moderate appetite alive for a day.

Robertson: Rev 6:6

For a penny ( dēnariou ).

Genitive of price, the wages of a day laborer (Mat 20:2), about eighteen cents in our money today.

Robertson: Rev 6:6

Of barley ( krithōn ).

Old word krithē , usually in plural as here. Barley was the food of the poor and it was cheaper even in the famine and it took more of it to support life. Here the proportion is three to one (cf. 2Ki 7:18). The proclamation forbids famine prices for food (solid and liquid).

Robertson: Rev 6:6

Hurt thou not ( mē adikēsēis ).

Prohibition with mē and the ingressive first aorist active subjunctive of adikeō . See Rev 7:3; Rev 9:4 for adikeō for injury to vegetable life. "The prohibition is addressed to the nameless rider who represents Dearth"(Swete). Wheat and barley, oil and the vine, were the staple foods in Palestine and Asia Minor.

Robertson: Rev 6:8

A pale horse ( hippos chlōros ).

Old adjective. Contracted from chloeros (from chloē , tender green grass) used of green grass (Mar 6:39; Rev 8:7; Rev 9:4), here for yellowish, common in both senses in old Greek, though here only in N.T. in this sense, greenish yellow. We speak of a sorrel horse, never of a green horse. Zechariah (Zec 6:3) uses poikilos (grizzled or variegated). Homer used chlōros of the ashen colour of a face blanched by fear (pallid) and so the pale horse is a symbol of death and of terror.

Robertson: Rev 6:8

His name was Death ( onoma autōi ho thanatos ).

Anacoluthon in grammatical structure like that in Joh 3:1 (cf. Rev 2:26) and common enough. Death is the name of this fourth rider (so personified) and there is with Death "his inseparable comrade, Hades (Rev 1:16; Rev 20:13.)"(Swete). Hades (hāidēs , alpha privative, and idein , to see, the unseen) is the abode of the dead, the keys of which Christ holds (Rev 1:18).

Robertson: Rev 6:8

Followed ( ēkolouthei ).

Imperfect active of akoloutheō , kept step with death, whether on the same horse or on another horse by his side or on foot John does not say.

Robertson: Rev 6:8

Over the fourth part of the earth ( epi to tetarton tēs gēs ).

Partitive genitive gēs after tetarton . Wider authority (exousia ) was given to this rider than to the others, though what part of the earth is included in the fourth part is not indicated.

Robertson: Rev 6:8

To kill ( apokteinai ).

First aorist active infinitive of apokteinō , explanation of the exousia (authority). The four scourges of Eze 14:21 are here reproduced with instrumental en with the inanimate things (romphaiāi , limōi thanatōi ) and hupo for the beasts (thēriōn ). Death here (thanatōi ) seems to mean pestilence as the Hebrew does (loimos - cf. limos famine). Cf. the "black death"for a plague.

Robertson: Rev 6:9

Under the altar ( hupokatō tou thusiastēriou ).

"Under"(hupokatō ), for the blood of the sacrifices was poured at the bottom of the altar (Lev 4:7). The altar of sacrifice (Exo 39:39; Exo 40:29), not of incense. The imagery, as in Hebrews, is from the tabernacle. For the word see Mat 5:23., often in Rev (Rev 8:3, Rev 8:5; Rev 9:13; Rev 11:1; Rev 14:18; Rev 16:7). This altar in heaven is symbolic, of course, the antitype for the tabernacle altar (Heb 8:5). The Lamb was slain (Rev 5:6, Rev 5:9, Rev 5:12) and these martyrs have followed the example of their Lord.

Robertson: Rev 6:9

The souls ( tas psuchas ).

The lives, for the life is in the blood (Lev 17:11), were given for Christ (Phi 2:17; 2Ti 4:6).

Robertson: Rev 6:9

Of the slain ( tōn esphagmenōn ).

See Rev 5:6. Christians were slain during the Neronian persecution and now again under Domitian. A long line of martyrs has followed.

Robertson: Rev 6:9

For the word of God ( dia ton logon tou theou ).

As in Rev 1:9, the confession of loyalty to Christ as opposed to emperor-worship.

Robertson: Rev 6:9

And for the testimony which they held ( kai dia tēn marturian hēn eichon ).

See also Rev 1:9. Probably kai equals "even"here, explaining the preceding. The imperfect tense eichon suits the repetition of the witness to Christ and the consequent death.

Robertson: Rev 6:10

How long ( heōs pote ).

"Until when."Cf. Mat 7:17; Joh 10:24.

Robertson: Rev 6:10

O Master ( ho despotēs ).

Nominative articular form, but used as vocative (despota ) as in Rev 4:11 (Joh 20:28). On despotēs (correlative of doulos ) see Luk 2:29. Here (alone in the Apocalypse) it is applied to God as in Luk 2:29; Act 4:24, but to Christ in Jud 1:4; 2Pe 2:1.

Robertson: Rev 6:10

The holy and true ( ho hagios kai alēthinos ).

See Rev 3:7 for these attributes of God.

Robertson: Rev 6:10

Avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth ( ekdikeis to haima hēmōn ek tōn katoikountōn epi tēs gēs ).

This same idiom in Rev 19:2 and see it also in Luk 18:7., "a passage which goes far to answer many questions in theodicy"(Swete). We find ekdikeō , late compound, used with ek as here in Deu 18:19; 1Sa 24:13, but with apo in Luk 18:3. For epi tēs gēs (upon the earth) see Rev 3:10.

Robertson: Rev 6:11

A white robe ( stolē leukē ).

Old word from stellō , to equip, an equipment in clothes, a flowing robe (Mar 12:38). For the white robe for martyrs see Rev 3:4.; Rev 4:4; Rev 7:9, Rev 7:13; Rev 19:14.

Robertson: Rev 6:11

That they should rest ( hina anapausontai ).

Sub-final clause with hina and the future indicative (as in Rev 3:9; Rev 6:4) middle rather than the aorist middle subjunctive anapausōntai of Aleph C.

Robertson: Rev 6:11

Yet for a little time ( eti chronon mikron ).

Accusative of extension of time as in Rev 20:3. Perhaps rest from their cry for vengeance and also rest in peace (Rev 14:13). For the verb anapauō see note on Mat 11:28.

Robertson: Rev 6:11

Until should be fulfilled ( heōs plērōthōsin ).

Future indefinite temporal clause with heōs and the first aorist passive subjunctive of plēroō , to fill full (Mat 23:32; Col 2:10), "until be filled full"(the number of), regular Greek idiom.

Robertson: Rev 6:11

Which should be killed ( hoi mellontes apoktennesthai ).

Regular construction of articular present active participle of mellō (about to be, going to be) with the present passive infinitive of apoktennō , Aeolic and late form for apokteinō , to kill (also in Mar 12:5). John foresees more persecution coming (Rev 2:10; Rev 3:10).

Robertson: Rev 6:12

There was a great earthquake ( seismos megas egeneto ).

"There came a great earthquake."Jesus spoke of earthquakes in his great eschatological discourse (Mar 13:8). In Mat 24:29 the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Seismos is from seiō , to shake, and occurs also in Rev 8:5; Rev 11:13, Rev 11:19; Rev 16:18. The reference is not a local earthquake like those so common in Asia Minor.

Robertson: Rev 6:12

As sackcloth of hair ( hōs sakkos trichinos ).

Sakkos (Attic sakos ), Latin saccus , English sack , originally a bag for holding things (Gen 42:25, Gen 42:35), then coarse garment of hair (trichinos , old word from thrix , here only in N.T.) clinging to one like a sack, of mourners, suppliants, prophets leading austere lives (Mat 3:4; Mat 11:21; Luk 10:13). Here the hair is that of the black goat (Isa 50:3). Cf. Joe 2:10; Eze 32:7.; Isa 13:10; Mar 13:24. See Ecc 12:2 for eclipses treated as symbols of old age. Apocalyptic pictures all have celestial phenomena following earthquakes.

Robertson: Rev 6:12

As blood ( hōs haima ).

In Act 2:20 we find Peter interpreting the apocalyptic eschatological language of Joe 2:31 about the sun being turned into darkness and the moon into blood as pointing to the events of the day of Pentecost as also "the great day of the Lord."Peter’ s interpretation of Joel should make us cautious about too literal an exegesis of these grand symbols.

Robertson: Rev 6:13

Her unripe figs ( tous olunthous autēs ).

An old word (Latin grossi ) for figs that grow in winter and fall off in the spring without getting ripe (So Rev 2:11.), here only in N.T. Jesus used the fig tree (Mar 13:28) as a sign of the "end of the world’ s long winter"(Swete). Cf. Isa 34:4; Nah 3:12.

Robertson: Rev 6:13

When she is shaken of a great wind ( hupo anemou megalou seiomenē ).

Present passive participle of seiō , "being shaken by a great wind."See Mat 11:7 for the reed so shaken.

Robertson: Rev 6:14

Was removed ( apechōristhē ).

First aorist passive indicative of apochōrizō , to separate, to part (Act 15:39). "The heaven was parted."

Robertson: Rev 6:14

As a scroll when it is rolled up ( hōs biblion helissomenon ).

Present passive participle of helissō , old verb, to roll up, in N.T. only here (from Isa 34:4) and Heb 1:12 (from Psa 102:27). Vivid picture of the expanse of the sky rolled up and away as a papyrus roll (Luk 4:17).

Robertson: Rev 6:14

Were moved ( ekinēthēsan ).

First aorist passive indicative of kineō , to move.

Robertson: Rev 6:14

Out of their places ( ek tōn topōn autōn ).

See also Rev 16:20 for these violent displacements in the earth’ s crust. Cf. Nah 1:5; Jer 4:24. Jesus spoke of faith removing mountains (of difficulty) as in Mar 11:23 (cf. 1Co 13:2).

Robertson: Rev 6:15

The princes ( hoi megistānes ).

Late word from the superlative megistos , in lxx, Josephus, papyri, in N.T. only in Mar 6:21; Rev 6:15; Rev 18:23, for the grandees, the persecuting proconsuls (Swete).

Robertson: Rev 6:15

The chief captains ( hoi chiliarchoi ).

The commanders of thousands, the military tribunes (Mar 6:21; Rev 19:18).

Robertson: Rev 6:15

The rich ( hoi plousioi ).

Not merely those in civil and military authority will be terror-stricken, but the self-satisfied and complacent rich (Jam 5:4.).

Robertson: Rev 6:15

The strong ( hoi ischuroi ).

Who usually scoff at fear. See the list in Rev 13:16; Rev 19:18. Cf. Luk 21:26.

Robertson: Rev 6:15

Every bondman ( pās doulos )

and freeman (kai eleutheros ). The two extremes of society.

Robertson: Rev 6:15

Hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains ( ekrupsan heautous eis ta spēlaia kai eis tas petras tōn oreōn ).

Based on Isa 2:10, Isa 2:18. First aorist active indicative of kruptō with the reflexive pronoun. For the old word spēlaion see Mat 21:13; Heb 11:38. Oreōn is the uncontracted Ionic form (for orōn ) of the genitive plural of oros (mountain).

Robertson: Rev 6:16

They say ( legousin ).

Vivid dramatic present active indicative, as is natural here.

Robertson: Rev 6:16

Fall on us ( Pesate eph' hēmās ).

Second aorist (first aorist ending) imperative of piptō , tense of urgency, do it now.

Robertson: Rev 6:16

And hide us ( kai krupsate hēmās ).

Same tense of urgency again from kruptō (verb in Rev 6:15). Both imperatives come in inverted order from Hos 10:8 with kalupsate (cover) in place of krupsate (hide), quoted by Jesus on the way to the Cross (Luk 23:30) in the order here, but with kalupsate , not krupsate .

Robertson: Rev 6:16

From the face of him that ( apo prosōpou tou , etc.).

"What sinners dread most is not death, but the revealed Presence of God"(Swete). Cf. Gen 3:8.

Robertson: Rev 6:16

And from the wrath of the Lamb ( kai apo tēs orgēs tou arniou ).

Repetition of "the grave irony"(Swete) of Rev 5:5. The Lamb is the Lion again in the terribleness of his wrath. Recall the mourning in Rev 1:7. See Mat 25:41. where Jesus pronounces the woes on the wicked.

Robertson: Rev 6:17

The great day ( hē hēmera hē megalē ).

The phrase occurs in the O.T. prophets (Joe 2:11, Joe 2:31; Zep 1:14. Cf. Jud 1:6) and is here combined with "of their wrath"(tēs orgēs autōn ) as in Zep 1:15, Zep 1:18; Zep 2:3; Rom 2:5. "Their"(autōn ) means the wrath of God and of the Lamb put here on an equality as in Rev 1:17., Rev 22:3, Rev 22:13; 1Th 3:11; 2Th 2:16. Beckwith holds that this language about the great day having come "is the mistaken cry of men in terror caused by the portents which are bursting upon them."There is something, to be sure, to be said for this view which denies that John commits himself to the position that this is the end of the ages.

Robertson: Rev 6:17

And who is able to stand? ( kai tis dunatai stathēnai̇ ).

Very much like the words in Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2. First aorist passive infinitive of histēmi . It is a rhetorical question, apparently by the frightened crowds of Rev 6:15. Swete observes that the only possible answer to that cry is the command of Jesus in Luk 21:36 : "Keep awake on every occasion, praying that ye may get strength to stand (stathēnai , the very form) before the Son of Man."

Vincent: Rev 6:1

Of the seals

Add seven .

Vincent: Rev 6:1

And see

Omit.

Vincent: Rev 6:2

White horse

For white , see on Luk 19:29. Horse , see Zec 1:7-11; Zec 6:1-8. All the figures of this verse are those of victory. The horse in the Old Testament is the emblem of war. See Job 39:25; Psa 76:6; Pro 21:31; Eze 26:10. So Virgil:

" But I beheld upon the grass four horses, snowy white,

Grazing the meadows far and wide, first omen of my sight.

Father Anchises seeth, and saith: 'New land and bear'st thou war?

For war are horses dight; so these war-threatening herd-beasts are.'"

" Aeneid ," iii ., 537 .

So Turnus, going forth to battle:

" He spake, and to the roofed place now swiftly wending home,

Called for his steeds, and merrily stood there before their foam

E'en those that Orithyia gave Pilumnus, gift most fair,

Whose whiteness overpassed the snow, whose speed the winged air."

" Aeneid ," xii ., 81-83 .

Homer pictures the horses of Rhesus as whiter than snow, and swift as the winds (" Iliad," x., 436, 437); and Herodotus, describing the battle of Plataea says: " The fight went most against the Greeks where Mardonius, mounted on a white horse, and surrounded by the bravest of all the Persians, the thousand picked men, fought in person" (ix., 63). The horses of the Roman generals in their triumphs were white.

Vincent: Rev 6:2

Bow ( τόξον )

See Psa 45:4, Psa 45:5; Heb 3:8, Heb 3:9; Isa 41:2; Zec 9:13,Zec 9:14, in which last passage the figure is that of a great bow which is drawn only by a great exertion of strength, and by placing the foot upon it. Compare Homer's picture of Telemachus' attempt to draw Ulysses' bow:

" And then he took his place

Upon the threshold, and essayed the bow;

And thrice he made the attempt and thrice gave o'er."

" Odyssey ," xxi ., 124-25 .

The suitors propose to anoint the bow with fat in order to soften it.

" Bring us from within

An ample roll of fat, that we young men

By warming and anointing may make soft

The bow, and draw the cord and end the strife."

" Odyssey ," xxi ., 178-80 .

Vincent: Rev 6:2

A crown ( στέφανος )

See on Rev 4:4.

Vincent: Rev 6:3

And see

Omit.

Vincent: Rev 6:3

Had opened ( ἤνοιξεν )

Rev., rendering the aorist mow literally, opened .

Vincent: Rev 6:4

Red ( πυῤῥός )

From πῦρ fire . Flame-colored . Compare 2Ki 3:22; Zec 1:8. Only here and Rev 12:3.

Vincent: Rev 6:4

To take peace from the earth

Compare Mat 10:34; Mat 24:7.

Vincent: Rev 6:4

Kill ( σφάξωσιν )

See on Rev 5:6.

Vincent: Rev 6:4

Sword ( μάχαιρα )

Compare Mat 10:34. In Homer, a large knife or dirk, worn next the sword-sheath, and used to slaughter animals for sacrifice. Thus, " The son of Atreus, having drawn with his hands the knife (μάχαιραν ) which hung ever by the great sheath of his sword, cut the hair from the heads of the lambs.... He spake, and cut the lambs' throats with the pitiless brass" (" Iliad," iii., 271-292). It is used by the surgeon Machaon to cut out an arrow (" Iliad," xi., 844). Herodotus, Aristophanes, and Euripides use the word in the sense of a knife for cutting up meat . Plato, of a knife for pruning trees . As a weapon it appears first in Herodotus: " Here they (the Greeks) defended themselves to the last, such as still had swords , using them (vii., 225) Later of the sabre or bent sword, contrasted with the ξίφος or straight sword. Aristophanes uses it with the adjective μιᾷ single , for a razor , contrasted with μάχαιρα διπλῆ , the double knife or scissors . This and ῥομφαία (see on Luk 2:35) are the only words used in the New Testament for sword . Θίφος (see above) does not occur. In Septuagint μάχαιρα of the knife of sacrifice used by Abraham (Gen 22:6,Gen 22:10).

Vincent: Rev 6:5

Come and see

Omit and see .

Vincent: Rev 6:5

Black

The color of mourning and famine. See Jer 4:28; Jer 8:21; Mal 3:14, where mournfully is, literally, in black .

Vincent: Rev 6:5

Pair of balances ( ζυγὸν )

Rev., a balance . Properly, anything which joins two bodies; hence a yoke (Mat 11:29; Act 15:10). The cross-beam of the loom, to which the warp was fixed; the thwarts joining the opposite sides of a ship; the beam of the balance, and hence the balance itself. The judgment of this seal is scarcity , of which the balance is a symbol, representing the time when food is doled out by weight. See Lev 26:26; Eze 4:16.

Vincent: Rev 6:6

Measure ( χοῖνιξ )

Choenix. Only here in the New Testament. A dry measure, according to some, a quart ; to others a pint and a half . Herodotus, speaking of the provisions for Xerxes' army, assigns a choenix of corn for a man's daily supply, evidently meaning a minimum allowance (vii., 187); and Thucydides, speaking of the terms of truce between the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, mentions the following as one of the provisions: " The Athenians shall permit the Lacedaemonians on the mainland to send to those on the island a fixed quantity of kneaded flour, viz., two Attic quarts (χοίνικας ) of barley-meal for each man" (iv., 16). Jowett (" Thucydides" ) says that the choenix was about two pints dry measure. So Arnold (" Thucydides" ), who adds that the allowance of two choenixes of barley-meal daily to a man was the ordinary allowance of a Spartan at the public table. See Herodotus, vi., 57.

Vincent: Rev 6:6

For a penny ( δηναρίου )

See on Mat 20:2.

Vincent: Rev 6:8

Pale ( χλωρὸς )

Only in Revelation, except Mar 6:39. Properly, greenish-yellow , like young grass or unripe wheat. Homer applies it to honey , and Sophocles to the sand . Generally, pale , pallid . Used of a mist, of sea-water, of a pale or bilious complexion. Thucydides uses it of the appearance of persons stricken with the plague (ii., 49). In Homer it is used of the paleness of the face from fear, and so as directly descriptive of fear (" Iliad," x., 376; xv., 4). Of olive wood (" Odyssey," ix., 320, 379) of which the bark is gray. Gladstone says that in Homer it indicates rather the absence than the presence of definite color. In the New Testament, always rendered green , except here. See Mar 6:39; Rev 8:7; Rev 9:14.

Vincent: Rev 6:8

Hell

Properly, Hades . The realm of the dead personified. See on Mat 16:18.

Vincent: Rev 6:8

Power ( ἐξουσία )

See on Mar 2:10; see on 2Pe 2:11. Rev., better, authority .

Vincent: Rev 6:8

With the sword ( ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ )

Another word for sword. Compare Rev 6:4, and see on Luk 2:35.

Vincent: Rev 6:8

With death ( ἐι θανάτῳ )

Or pestilence . The Hebrew deber , pestilence , is rendered by the Greek word for death in the Septuagint. See Jer 14:12; Jer 21:7. Compare the term black-death applied to an Oriental plague which raged in the fourteenth century.

Vincent: Rev 6:8

With the beasts ( ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων )

Rev., by . The preposition ὑπό by is used here instead of ἐν in or with , indicating more definitely the actual agent of destruction; while ἐν denotes the element in which the destruction takes place, and gives a general indication of the manner in which it was wrought. With these four judgments compare Eze 14:21.

Vincent: Rev 6:9

Altar ( θυσιαστηρίου )

See on Act 17:23. The altar of sacrifice , as is indicated by slain ; not the altar of incense . The imagery is from the tabernacle. Exo 39:39; Exo 40:29.

Vincent: Rev 6:9

Souls ( ψυχὰς )

Or lives . See on 3Jo 1:2. He saw only blood , but blood and life were equivalent terms to the Hebrew.

Vincent: Rev 6:9

Slain ( ἐσφαγμένων )

See on Rev 5:6. The law commanded that the blood of sacrificed animals should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering (Lev 4:7).

Vincent: Rev 6:9

They held ( εἶχον )

Not held fast , but bore the testimony which was committed to them.

Vincent: Rev 6:10

They cried ( ἔκραζον )

See on Mar 5:5.

Vincent: Rev 6:10

How long ( ἕως πότε )

Lit., until when . Compare Zec 1:12.

Vincent: Rev 6:10

O Lord ( ὁ δεσπότης )

See on 2Pe 2:1. Only here in Revelation. Addressed to God rather than to Christ , and breathing, as Professor Milligan remarks, " the feeling of Old Testament rather than of New Testament relation." Compare Act 4:24; Jud 1:4.

Vincent: Rev 6:10

True ( ἀληθινὸς )

See on Joh 1:9; see on Rev 3:7.

Vincent: Rev 6:10

Judge ( κρίνεις )

Originally the verb means to separate ; thence the idea of selection: to pick out , and so to discriminate or judge .

Vincent: Rev 6:10

Avenge ( ἐκδικεῖς )

Compare Luk 18:3; Rom 12:19.

Vincent: Rev 6:10

On the earth ( ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς )

Earth , in Revelation, is generally to be understood of the ungodly earth.

Vincent: Rev 6:11

White robes were given unto every one of them ( ἐδόθησαν ἑκάστοις στολαὶ λευκαὶ )

The best texts read ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἑκάστῳ στολὴ λευκή there was given them to each one a white robe . So Rev. Στολὴ is properly a long , flowing robe; a festive garment. Compare Mar 16:5; Luk 15:22; Luk 20:46.

Vincent: Rev 6:11

Should rest ( ἀναπαύσωνται )

See on Mat 11:28; see on 1Pe 5:14; compare Rev 14:13; Dan 12:13. Not merely rest from their crying for vengeance, but rest in peace.

Vincent: Rev 6:11

Fellow-servants

See Master in Rev 6:10.

Vincent: Rev 6:11

Should be fulfilled ( πληρώσονται )

Completed in number. See Col 2:10. Some texts read πληρώσωσιν shall have fulfilled their course .

Vincent: Rev 6:12

The sixth seal

" The Apocalypse is molded by the great discourse of our Lord upon 'the last things' which has been preserved for us in the first three Gospels (Mat 24:4; 25.; Mark 13:5-37; Luke 21:8-36; compare 17:20-37). The parallelism between the two is, to a certain extent, acknowledged by all inquirers, and is indeed, in many respects, so obvious, that it can hardly escape the notice of even the ordinary reader. Let any one compare, for example, the account of the opening of the sixth seal with the description of the end (Mat 24:29, Mat 24:30), and he will see that the one is almost a transcript of the other. It is remarkable that we find no account of this discourse in the Gospel of St. John; nor does it seem as sufficient explanation of the omission that the later Evangelist was satisfied with the records of the discourse already given by his predecessors" (Milligan).

Vincent: Rev 6:12

Earthquake ( σεισμὸς )

Lit., shaking . Used also of a tempest . See on Mat 8:24, and compare Mat 24:7. The word here is not necessarily confined to shaking the earth. In Mat 24:29, it is predicted that the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (σαλευθήσονται , see on Luk 21:26). Here also the heaven is removed (Rev 6:14). Compare Heb 12:26, where the verb σείω to shake (kindred with σεισμὸς ) is used.

Vincent: Rev 6:12

Black as sackcloth of hair ( μέλας ὡς σάκκος )

Compare Mat 24:29; Isa 50:3; Isa 13:10; Jer 4:23; Eze 32:7, Eze 32:8; Joe 2:31; Joe 3:15; Amo 8:9, Amo 8:10; Mic 3:6. For sackcloth , see on Luk 10:13.

Vincent: Rev 6:12

The moon ( ἡ σελήνη )

Add ὅλη whole . Rev., the whole moon .

Vincent: Rev 6:13

Untimely figs ( ὀλύνθους )

Better, as Rev., unripe . Compare Mat 24:32; Isa 34:4. Only here in the New Testament.

Vincent: Rev 6:14

Departed ( ἀπεχωρισθη )

The verb means to separate , sever . Rev., was removed .

Vincent: Rev 6:14

Scroll ( βιβλίον )

See on Luk 4:17. Compare Isa 34:4.

Vincent: Rev 6:14

Mountain and island

Compare Mat 24:35; Nah 1:5.

Vincent: Rev 6:15

Of the earth

See on Rev 6:10.

Vincent: Rev 6:15

Great men ( μεγιστᾶνες )

Rev., princes . See on high captains , Mar 6:21.

Vincent: Rev 6:15

Chief captains ( χιλίαρχοι )

See on Mar 6:21, and see on centurion , Luk 7:2.

Vincent: Rev 6:15

The mighty ( οἱ δυνατοὶ )

The best texts read οἱ ἰσχυροὶ. Rev., the strong . For the difference in meaning, see on the kindred words δύναμις and ἰσχύς might and power , 2Pe 2:11.

Vincent: Rev 6:15

Every free man

Omit every , and read as Rev., every bondman and free man .

Vincent: Rev 6:15

In the dens ( εἰς τὰ σπήλαια )

Rev., caves . The preposition εἰς into implies running for shelter into.

Vincent: Rev 6:15

Rocks ( πέτρας )

See on Mat 16:18.

Vincent: Rev 6:16

Said ( λέγουσιν )

Lit., say . So Rev.

Vincent: Rev 6:16

Fall on us

Compare Hos 10:8; Luk 23:30.

Vincent: Rev 6:16

Wrath ( ὀργῆς )

Denoting a deep-seated wrath. See on Joh 3:36.

Vincent: Rev 6:17

The great day ( ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη )

Lit., the day , the great ( day ). For the construction, see on 1Jo 4:9.

Vincent: Rev 6:17

Is come ( ἦλθεν )

Lit., came .

Vincent: Rev 6:17

Shall be able to stand ( δύναται σταθῆναι )

Rev., rightly, is able . Compare Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2.

Wesley: Rev 6:1

That is, the first.

Wesley: Rev 6:1

Who looks forward toward the east.

Wesley: Rev 6:2

This colour, and the bow shooting arrows afar off, betoken victory, triumph, prosperity, enlargement of empire, and dominion over many people.

Another horseman, indeed, and of quite another kind, appears on a white horse, Rev 19:11. But he that is spoken of under the first seal must be so understood as to bear a proportion to the horsemen in the second, third, and fourth seal.

Nerva succeeded the emperor Domitian at the very time when the Revelation was written, in the year of our Lord 96. He reigned scarce a year alone; and three months before his death he named Trajan for his colleague and successor, and died in the year 98. Trajan's accession to the empire seems to be the dawning of the seven seals.

Wesley: Rev 6:2

This, considering his descent, Trajan could have no hope of attaining. But God gave it him by the hand of Nerva; and then the east soon felt his power.

Wesley: Rev 6:2

That is, from one victory to another. In the year 108 the already victorious Trajan went forth toward the east, to conquer not only Armenia, Assyria, and Mesopotamia, but also the countries beyond the Tigris, carrying the bounds of the Roman empire to a far greater extent than ever. We find no emperor like him for making conquests. He aimed at nothing else; he lived only to conquer. Meantime, in him was eminently fulfilled what had been prophesied of the fourth empire, Dan 2:40, Dan 7:23, that he should "devour, tread down, and break in pieces the whole earth."

Wesley: Rev 6:3

Who looked toward the west. Saying, Come - At each seal it was necessary to turn toward that quarter of the world which it more immediately concerned.

Wesley: Rev 6:4

A colour suitable to bloodshed.

Wesley: Rev 6:4

Vespasian, in the year 75, had dedicated a temple to Peace; but after a time we hear little more of peace. All is full of war and bloodshed, chiefly in the western world, where the main business of men seemed to be, to kill one another.

To this horseman there was given a great sword; and he had much to do with it; for as soon as Trajan ascended the throne, peace was taken from the earth. Decebalus, king of Dacia, which lies westward from Patmos, put the Romans to no small trouble. The war lasted five years, and consumed abundance of men on both sides; yet was only a prelude to much other bloodshed, which followed for a long season. All this was signified by the great sword, which strikes those who are near, as the bow does those who are at a distance.

Wesley: Rev 6:5

Toward the south. Saying, Come.

Wesley: Rev 6:5

A fit emblem of mourning and distress; particularly of black famine, as the ancient poets term it.

Wesley: Rev 6:5

When there is great plenty, men scarce think it worth their while to weigh and measure everything, Gen 41:49. But when there is scarcity, they are obliged to deliver them out by measure and weight, Eze 4:16. Accordingly, these scales signify scarcity. They serve also for a token, that all the fruits of the earth, and consequently the whole heavens, with their courses and influences; that all the seasons of the year, with whatsoever they produce, in nature or states, are subject to Christ. Accordingly his hand is wonderful, not only in wars and victories, but likewise in the whole course of nature.

Wesley: Rev 6:6

It seems, from God himself.

Wesley: Rev 6:6

To the horseman, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther." Let there be a measure of wheat for a penny - The word translated measure, was a Grecian measure, nearly equal to our quart. This was the daily allowance of a slave. The Roman penny, as much as a labourer then earned in a day, was about sevenpence halfpenny English. According to this, wheat would be near twenty shillings per bushel. This must have been fulfilled while the Grecian measure and the Roman money were still in use; as also where that measure was the common measure, and this money the current coin. It was so in Egypt under Trajan.

Wesley: Rev 6:6

Either barley was, in common, far cheaper among the ancients than wheat, or the prophecy mentions this as something peculiar.

Wesley: Rev 6:6

Let there not be a scarcity of everything. Let there he some provision left to supply the want of the rest This was also fulfilled in the reign of Trajan, especially in Egypt, which lay southward from Patmos. In this country, which used to be the granary of the empire, there was an uncommon dearth at the very beginning of his reign; so that he was obliged to supply Egypt itself with corn from other countries. The same scarcity there was in the thirteenth year of his reign, the harvest failing for want of the rising of the Nile: and that not only in Egypt, but in all those other parts of Afric, where the Nile uses to overflow.

Wesley: Rev 6:7

Toward the north.

Wesley: Rev 6:8

Suitable to pale death, his rider.

Wesley: Rev 6:8

The representative of the state of separate souls.

Wesley: Rev 6:8

The four first seals concern living men. Death therefore is properly introduced. Hades is only occasionally mentioned as a companion of death. So the fourth seal reaches to the borders of things invisible, which are comprised in the three last seals.

Wesley: Rev 6:8

What came single and in a lower degree before, comes now together, and much more severely. The first seal brought victory with it: in the second was "a great sword;" but here a scimitar. In the third was moderate dearth; here famine, and plague, and wild beasts beside. And it may well be, that from the time of Trajan downwards, the fourth part of men upon the earth, that is, within the Roman empire, died by sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. "At that time," says Aurelius Victor, "the Tyber overflowed much more fatally than under Nerva, with a great destruction of houses and there was a dreadful earthquake through many provinces, and a terrible plague and famine, and many places consumed by fire." By death - That is, by pestilence wild beasts have, at several times, destroyed abundance of men; and undoubtedly there was given them, at this time, an uncommon fierceness and strength. It is observable that war brings on scarcity, and scarcity pestilence, through want of wholesome sustenance; and pestilence, by depopulating the country, leaves the few survivors an easier prey to the wild beasts. And thus these judgments make way for one another in the order wherein they are here represented.

What has been already observed may be a fourfold proof that the four horsemen, as with their first entrance in the reign of Trajan, (which does by no means exhaust the contents of the four first seals,) so with all their entrances in succeeding ages, and with the whole course of the world and of visible nature, are in all ages subject to Christ, subsisting by his power, and serving his will, against the wicked, and in defence of the righteous. Herewith, likewise, a way is paved for the trumpets which regularly succeed each other; and the whole prophecy, as to what is future, is confirmed by the clear accomplishment of this part of it.

Wesley: Rev 6:9

As the four former seals, so the three latter, have a close connexion with each other. These all refer to the invisible world; the fifth, to the happy dead, particularly the martyrs; the sixth, to the unhappy; the seventh, to the angels, especially those to whom the trumpets are given.

Wesley: Rev 6:9

Not only the church warring under Christ, and the world warring under Satan; but also the invisible hosts, both of heaven and hell, are described in this book. And it not only describes the actions of both these armies upon earth; but their respective removals from earth, into a more happy or more miserable state, succeeding each other at several times, distinguished by various degrees, celebrated by various thanksgivings; and also the gradual increase of expectation and triumph in heaven, and of terror and misery in hell.

Wesley: Rev 6:9

That is, at the foot of it. Two altars are mentioned in the Revelation, "the golden altar" of incense, Rev 9:13; and the altar of burnt-offerings, mentioned here, and Rev 8:5, Rev 14:18, Rev 16:7. At this the souls of the martyrs now prostrate themselves. By and by their blood shall be avenged upon Babylon; but not yet, whence it appears that the plagues in the fourth seal do not concern Rome in particular.

Wesley: Rev 6:10

This cry did not begin now, but under the first Roman persecution. The Romans themselves had already avenged the martyrs slain by the Jews on that whole nation.

Wesley: Rev 6:10

They knew their blood would be avenged; but not immediately, as is now shown them.

Wesley: Rev 6:10

The Greek word properly signifies the master of a family: it is therefore beautifully used by these, who are peculiarly of the household of God.

Wesley: Rev 6:10

Both the holiness and truth of God require him to execute judgment and vengeance.

Wesley: Rev 6:10

There is no impure affection in heaven: therefore, this desire of theirs is pure and suitable to the will of God. The martyrs are concerned for the praise of their Master, of his holiness and truth: and the praise is given him, Rev 19:2, where the prayer of the martyrs is changed into a thanksgiving: Thou holy One and true: "True and right are thy judgments." How long dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? "He hath judged the great whore, and hath avenged the blood of his servants."

Wesley: Rev 6:11

An emblem of innocence, joy, and victory, in token of honour and favourable acceptance.

Wesley: Rev 6:11

They were told how long. They were not left in that uncertainty.

Wesley: Rev 6:11

Should cease from crying. They rested from pain before.

Wesley: Rev 6:11

This word has a peculiar meaning in this book, to denote which, we may retain the original word chronos. Here are two classes of martyrs specified, the former killed under heathen Rome, the latter, under papal Rome. The former are commanded to rest till the latter are added to them. There were many of the former in the days of John: the first fruits of the latter died in the thirteenth century. Now, a time, or chronos, is 1111 years. This chronos began A. C. 98, and continued to the year 1209; or from Trajan's persecution, to the first crusade against the Waldenses.

Wesley: Rev 6:11

It is not said, Immediately after this time is expired, vengeance shall be executed; but only, that immediately after this time their brethren and fellowservants will come to them. This event will precede the other; and there will be some space between.

Wesley: Rev 6:12

This sixth seal seems particularly to point out God's judgment on the wicked departed. St. John saw how the end of the world was even then set before those unhappy spirits. This representation might be made to them, without anything of it being perceived upon earth. The like representation is made in heaven, Rev 11:18.

Wesley: Rev 6:12

Or shaking, not of the earth only, but the heavens. This is a farther description of the representation made to those unhappy souls.

Wesley: Rev 6:13

Yea, and so they surely will, let astronomers fix their magnitude as they please. As a fig tree casteth its untimely figs, when it is shaken by a mighty wind - How sublimely is the violence of that shaking expressed by this comparison!

Wesley: Rev 6:14

When the scripture compares some very great with a little thing, the majesty and omnipotence of God, before whom great things are little, is highly exalted.

Wesley: Rev 6:14

What a mountain is to the land, that an island is to the sea.

Wesley: Rev 6:15

They who had been so in their day.

Wesley: Rev 6:15

The generals and nobles.

Wesley: Rev 6:15

So far as in them lay.

Wesley: Rev 6:15

There are also rocks on the plains; but they were rocks on high, which they besought to fall upon them.

Wesley: Rev 6:16

Which were tottering already, Rev 6:12.

Wesley: Rev 6:16

Which "is against the ungodly," Psa 34:16.

JFB: Rev 6:1

The oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, Vulgate, and Syriac read, "one of the seven seals."

JFB: Rev 6:1

The three oldest manuscripts read this in the nominative or dative, not the genitive, as English Version, "I heard one from among the four living creatures saying, as (it were) the voice (or, 'as with the voice') of thunder." The first living creature was like a lion (Rev 4:7): his voice is in consonance. Implying the lion-like boldness with which, in the successive great revivals, the faithful have testified for Christ, and especially a little before His coming shall testify. Or, rather, their earnestness in praying for Christ's coming.

JFB: Rev 6:1

One oldest manuscript, B, has "And see." But A, C, and Vulgate reject it. ALFORD rightly objects to English Version reading: "Whither was John to come? Separated as he was by the glassy sea from the throne, was he to cross it?" Contrast the form of expression, Rev 10:8. It is much more likely to be the cry of the redeemed to the Redeemer, "Come" and deliver the groaning creature from the bondage of corruption. Thus, Rev 6:2 is an answer to the cry, went (literally, "came") forth corresponding to "Come." "Come," says GROTIUS, is the living creature's address to John, calling his earnest attention. But it seems hard to see how "Come" by itself can mean this. Compare the only other places in Revelation where it is used, Rev 4:1; Rev 22:17. If the four living creatures represent the four Gospels, the "Come" will be their invitation to everyone (for it is not written that they addressed John) to accept Christ's salvation while there is time, as the opening of the seals marks a progressive step towards the end (compare Rev 22:17). Judgments are foretold as accompanying the preaching of the Gospel as a witness to all nations (Rev 14:6-11; Mat 24:6-14). Thus the invitation, "Come," here, is aptly parallel to Mat 24:14. The opening of the first four seals is followed by judgments preparatory for His coming. At the opening of the fifth seal, the martyrs above express the same (Rev 6:9-10; compare Zec 1:10). At the opening of the sixth seal, the Lord's coming is ushered in with terrors to the ungodly. At the seventh, the consummation is fully attained (Rev 11:15).

JFB: Rev 6:2

Evidently Christ, whether in person, or by His angel, preparatory to His coming again, as appears from Rev 19:11-12.

JFB: Rev 6:2

(Psa 45:4-5).

JFB: Rev 6:2

Greek, "stephanos," the garland or wreath of a conqueror, which is also implied by His white horse, white being the emblem of victory. In Rev 19:11-12 the last step in His victorious progress is represented; accordingly there He wears many diadems (Greek, "diademata"; not merely Greek, "stephanoi," "crowns" or "wreaths"), and is personally attended by the hosts of heaven. Compare Zec 1:7-17; Zec 6:1-8; especially Rev 6:10 below, with Zec 1:12; also compare the colors of the four horses.

JFB: Rev 6:2

That is, so as to gain a lasting victory. All four seals usher in judgments on the earth, as the power which opposes the reign of Himself and His Church. This, rather than the work of conversion and conviction, is primarily meant, though doubtless, secondarily, the elect will be gathered out through His word and His judgments.

JFB: Rev 6:3

Omitted in the three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, and Vulgate.

JFB: Rev 6:4

The color of blood. The color of the horse in each case answers to the mission of the rider. Compare Mat 10:24-36, "Think not I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword." The white horse of Christ's bloodless victories is soon followed, through man's perversion of the Gospel, by the red horse of bloodshed; but this is overruled to the clearing away of the obstacles to Christ's coming kingdom. The patient ox is the emblem of the second living creature who, at the opening of this seal, saith, "Come." The saints amidst judgments on the earth in patience "endure to the end."

JFB: Rev 6:4

The Greek is indicative future, "that they may, as they also shall, kill one another."

JFB: Rev 6:5

The two oldest manuscripts, A, C, and Vulgate omit "and see." B retains the words.

JFB: Rev 6:5

Implying sadness and want.

JFB: Rev 6:5

Greek, "having."

JFB: Rev 6:5

The symbol of scarcity of provisions, the bread being doled out by weight.

JFB: Rev 6:6

Two oldest manuscripts, A, C, read, "as it were a voice." B reads as English Version. The voice is heard "in the midst of the four living creatures" (as Jehovah in the Shekinah-cloud manifested His presence between the cherubim); because it is only for the sake of, and in connection with, His redeemed, that God mitigates His judgments on the earth.

JFB: Rev 6:6

"A chœnix." While making food scarce, do not make it so much so that a chœnix (about a day's provision of wheat, variously estimated at two or three pints) shall not be obtainable "for a penny" (denarius, eight and a half pence of our money, probably the day's wages of a laborer). Famine generally follows the sword. Ordinarily, from sixteen to twenty measures were given for a denarius. The sword, famine, noisome beasts, and the pestilence, are God's four judgments on the earth. A spiritual famine, too, may be included in the judgment. The "Come," in the case of this third seal, is said by the third of the four living creatures, whose likeness is a man indicative of sympathy and human compassion for the sufferers. God in it tempers judgment with mercy. Compare Mat 24:7, which indicates the very calamities foretold in these seals, nation rising against nation (the sword), famines, pestilences (Rev 6:8), and earthquakes (Rev 6:12).

JFB: Rev 6:6

The cheaper and less nutritious grain, bought by the laborer who could not buy enough wheat for his family with his day's wages, a denarius, and, therefore, buys barley.

JFB: Rev 6:6

The luxuries of life, rather than necessaries; the oil and wine were to be spared for the refreshment of the sufferers.

JFB: Rev 6:7

Supported by B; omitted by A, C, and Vulgate. The fourth living creature, who was "like a flying eagle," introduces this seal; implying high-soaring intelligence, and judgment descending from on high fatally on the ungodly, as the king of birds on his prey.

JFB: Rev 6:8

"livid" [ALFORD].

JFB: Rev 6:8

Personified.

JFB: Rev 6:8

Hades personified.

JFB: Rev 6:8

Death and Hades. So A, C read. But B and Vulgate read, "to him."

JFB: Rev 6:8

Answering to the first four seals; his portion as one of the four, being a fourth part.

JFB: Rev 6:8

Pestilence; compare Eze 14:21 with the four judgments here, the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts; the famine the consequence of the sword; pestilence, that of famine; and beasts multiplying by the consequent depopulation.

JFB: Rev 6:8

Greek, "by"; more direct agency. These four seals are marked off from the three last, by the four living creatures introducing them with "Come." The calamities indicated are not restricted to one time, but extend through the whole period of Church history to the coming of Christ, before which last great and terrible day of the Lord they shall reach highest aggravation. The first seal is the summary, Christ going forth conquering till all enemies are subdued under Him, with a view to which the judgments subsequently specified accompany the preaching of the Gospel for a witness to all nations.

JFB: Rev 6:9

The three last seals relate to the invisible, as the first four to the visible world; the fifth, to the martyrs who have died as believers; the sixth, to those who have died, or who shall be found at Christ's coming, unbelievers, namely, "the kings . . . great men . . . bondman . . . freeman"; the seventh, to the silence in heaven. The scene changes from earth to heaven; so that interpretations which make these three last consecutive to the first four seals, are very doubtful.

JFB: Rev 6:9

In spirit. For souls are not naturally visible.

JFB: Rev 6:9

As the blood of sacrificial victims slain on the altar was poured at the bottom of the altar, so the souls of those sacrificed for Christ's testimony are symbolically represented as under the altar, in heaven; for the life or animal soul is in the blood, and blood is often represented as crying for vengeance (Gen 4:10). The altar in heaven, antitypical to the altar of sacrifice, is Christ crucified. As it is the altar that sanctifies the gift, so it is Christ alone who makes our obedience, and even our sacrifice of life for the truth, acceptable to God. The sacrificial altar was not in the sanctuary, but outside; so Christ's literal sacrifice and the figurative sacrifice of the martyrs took place, not in the heavenly sanctuary, but outside, here on earth. The only altar in heaven is that antitypical to the temple altar of incense. The blood of the martyrs cries from the earth under Christ's cross, whereon they may be considered virtually to have been sacrificed; their souls cry from under the altar of incense, which is Christ in heaven, by whom alone the incense of praise is accepted before God. They are under Christ, in His immediate presence, shut up unto Him in joyful eager expectancy until He shall come to raise the sleeping dead. Compare the language of 2 Maccabees 7:36 as indicating Jewish opinion on the subject. Our brethren who have now suffered a short pain are dead under (Greek) God's covenant of everlasting life.

JFB: Rev 6:9

That is, which they bore, as committed to them to bear. Compare Rev 12:17, "Have (same Greek as here) the testimony of Jesus."

JFB: Rev 6:10

Greek, "Until when?" As in the parable the woman (symbol of the Church) cries day and night to the unjust judge for justice against her adversary who is always oppressing her (compare below, Rev 12:10); so the elect (not only on earth, but under Christ's covering, and in His presence in Paradise) cry day and night to God, who will assuredly, in His own time, avenge His and their cause, "though He bear long with them." These passages need not be restricted to some particular martyrdoms, but have been, and are receiving, and shall receive partial fulfilments, until their last exhaustive fulfilment before Christ's coming. So as to the other events foretold here. The glory even of those in Paradise will only be complete when Christ's and the Church's foes are cast out, and the earth will become Christ's kingdom at His coming to raise the sleeping saints.

JFB: Rev 6:10

Greek, "Master"; implying that He has them and their foes and all His creatures as absolutely at His disposal, as a master has his slaves; hence, in Rev 6:11, "fellow servants," or fellow slaves follows.

JFB: Rev 6:10

Greek, "the Holy one."

JFB: Rev 6:10

"exact vengeance for our blood."

JFB: Rev 6:10

Greek, "from them."

JFB: Rev 6:10

The ungodly, of earth, earthly, as distinguished from the Church, whose home and heart are even now in heavenly places.

JFB: Rev 6:11

The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, read, "A white robe was given."

JFB: Rev 6:11

One oldest manuscript, B, omits this. A and C read, "unto them, unto each," that is, unto them severally. Though their joint cry for the riddance of the earth from the ungodly is not yet granted, it is intimated that it will be so in due time; meanwhile, individually they receive the white robe, indicative of light, joy, and triumphant victory over their foes; even as the Captain of their salvation goes forth on a white horse conquering and to conquer; also of purity and sanctity through Christ. MAIMONIDES says that the Jews used to array priests, when approved of, in white robes; thus the sense is, they are admitted among the blessed ones, who, as spotless priests, minister unto God and the Lamb.

JFB: Rev 6:11

So C reads. But A and B, "shall rest."

JFB: Rev 6:11

One oldest manuscript, B, omits "little." A and C support it. Even if it be omitted, is it to be inferred that the "season" is short as compared with eternity? BENGEL fancifully made a season (Greek, "chronus," the word here used) to be one thousand one hundred and eleven one-ninth years, and a time (Rev 12:12, Rev 12:14, Greek, "kairos") to be a fifth of a season, that is, two hundred and twenty-two two-ninths years. The only distinction in the Greek is, a season (Greek, "chronus") is a sort of aggregate of times. Greek, "kairos," a specific time, and so of short duration. As to their rest, compare Rev 14:13 (the same Greek, "anapauomai"); Isa 57:2; Dan 12:13.

JFB: Rev 6:11

In number. Until their full number shall have been completed. The number of the elect is definitely fixed: perhaps to fill up that of the fallen angels. But this is mere conjecture. The full blessedness and glory of all the saints shall be simultaneous. The earlier shall not anticipate the later saints. A and C read, "shall have been accomplished"; B and Aleph read, "shall have accomplished (their course)."

JFB: Rev 6:12

As Rev 6:4, Rev 6:6-8, the sword, famine, and pestilence, answer to Mat 24:6-7; Rev 6:9-10, as to martyrdoms, answer to Mat 24:9-10; so this passage, Rev 6:12, Rev 6:17, answers to Mat 24:29-30, "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven; . . . then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming"; imagery describing the portents of the immediate coming of the day of the Lord; but not the coming itself until the elect are sealed, and the judgments invoked by the martyrs descend on the earth, the sea, and the trees (Rev 7:1-3).

JFB: Rev 6:12

So A reads. But B and C omit "lo."

JFB: Rev 6:12

Greek, "shaking" of the heavens, the sea, and the dry land; the shaking of these mutable things being the necessary preliminary to the setting up of those things which cannot be shaken. This is one of the catchwords [WORDSWORTH] connecting the sixth seal with the sixth trumpet (Rev 11:13) and the seventh vial (Rev 16:17-21); also the seventh seal (Rev 8:5).

JFB: Rev 6:12

One kind, made of the "hair" of Cilician goats, was called "cilicium," or Cilician cloth, and was used for tents, &c. Paul, a Cilician, made such tents (Act 18:3).

JFB: Rev 6:12

A, B, C, and oldest versions read, "the whole moon"; the full moon; not merely the crescent moon.

JFB: Rev 6:12

(Joe 2:31).

JFB: Rev 6:13

(Isa 34:4; Nah 3:12). The Church shall be then ripe for glorification, the Antichristian world for destruction, which shall be accompanied with mighty phenomena in nature. As to the stars falling to the earth, Scripture describes natural phenomena as they would appear to the spectator, not in the language of scientific accuracy; and yet, while thus adapting itself to ordinary men, it drops hints which show that it anticipates the discoveries of modern science.

JFB: Rev 6:14

Greek, "was separated from" its place; "was made to depart." Not as ALFORD, "parted asunder"; for, on the contrary, it was rolled together as a scroll which had been open is rolled up and laid aside. There is no "asunder one from another" here in the Greek, as in Act 15:39, which ALFORD copies.

JFB: Rev 6:14

(Psa 121:1, Margin; Jer 3:23; Jer 4:24; Nah 1:5). This total disruption shall be the precursor of the new earth, just as the pre-Adamic convulsions prepared it for its present occupants.

JFB: Rev 6:15

Where was now the spirit of those whom the world has so greatly feared? [BENGEL].

JFB: Rev 6:15

Statesmen and high civil officers.

JFB: Rev 6:15

The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, transpose thus, "chief captains . . . rich men."

JFB: Rev 6:15

The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, and C read, "strong" physically (Psa 33:16).

JFB: Rev 6:15

Literally "into"; ran into, so as to hide themselves in.

JFB: Rev 6:15

"caves."

JFB: Rev 6:16

(Psa 34:16). On the whole verse, compare Hos 10:8; Luk 23:30.

JFB: Rev 6:17

Literally, "the day, the great (day)," which can only mean the last great day. After the Lord has exhausted all His ordinary judgments, the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, and still sinners are impenitent, the great day of the Lord itself' shall come. Mat. 24:6-29 plainly forms a perfect parallelism to the six seals, not only in the events, but also in the order of their occurrence: Mat 24:3, the first seal; Mat 24:6, the second seal; Mat 24:7, the third seal; Mat 24:7, end, the fourth seal; Mat 24:9, the fifth seal, the persecutions and abounding iniquity under which, as well as consequent judgments accompanied with gospel preaching to all nations as a witness, are particularly detailed, Mat. 24:9-28; Mat 24:29, the sixth seal.

JFB: Rev 6:17

To stand justified, and not condemned before the Judge. Thus the sixth seal brings us to the verge of the Lord's coming. The ungodly "tribes of the earth" tremble at the signs of His immediate approach. But before He actually inflicts the blow in person, "the elect" must be "gathered "out.

Clarke: Rev 6:1

When the Lamb opened one of the seals - 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. It is supposed that, from Revelation 6:1-11:19, the calamities which should fall on the enemies of Christianity, and particularly the Jews, are pointed out under various images, as well as the preservation of the Christians under those calamities

Clarke: Rev 6:1

One of the four beasts - Probably that with the face of a lion. See Rev 4:7

Clarke: Rev 6:1

Come and see - Attend to what is about to be exhibited. It is very likely that all was exhibited before his eyes as in a scene, and he saw every act represented which was to take place, and all the persons and things which were to be the chief actors.

Clarke: Rev 6:2

A white horse - Supposed to represent the Gospel system, and pointing out its excellence, swiftness, and purity

Clarke: Rev 6:2

He that sat on him - Supposed to represent Jesus Christ

Clarke: Rev 6:2

A bow - The preaching of the Gospel, darting conviction into the hearts of sinners

Clarke: Rev 6:2

A crown - The emblem of the kingdom which Christ is to establish on earth

Clarke: Rev 6:2

Conquering, and to conquer - Overcoming and confounding the Jews first, and then the Gentiles; spreading more and more the doctrine and influence of the cross over the face of the earth.

Clarke: Rev 6:3

The second beast - That which had the face of an ox.

Clarke: Rev 6:4

Another horse - red - The emblem of war; perhaps also of severe persecution, and the martyrdom of the saints

Clarke: Rev 6:4

Him that sat thereon - Same say, Christ; others, Vespasian; others, the Roman armies; others, Artabanus, king of the Parthians, etc., etc

Clarke: Rev 6:4

Take peace from the earth - To deprive Judea of all tranquillity

Clarke: Rev 6:4

They should kill one another - This was literally the case with the Jews, while besieged by the Romans

Clarke: Rev 6:4

A great sword - Great influence and success, producing terrible carnage.

Clarke: Rev 6:5

The third beast - That which had the face of a man

Clarke: Rev 6:5

A black horse - The emblem of famine. Some think that which took place under Claudius. See Mat 24:7; the same which was predicted by Agabus, Act 11:28

Clarke: Rev 6:5

A pair of balances - To show that the scarcity would be such, that every person must be put under an allowance.

Clarke: Rev 6:6

A measure of wheat for a penny - The chaenix here mentioned was a measure of dry things; and although the capacity is not exactly known, yet it is generally agreed that it contained as much as one man could consume in a day; and a penny, the Roman denarius, was the ordinary pay of a laborer. So it appears that in this scarcity each might be able to obtain a bare subsistence by his daily labor; but a man could not, in such cases, provide for a family

Clarke: Rev 6:6

Three measures of barley - This seems to have been the proportion of value between the wheat and the barley. Barley was allowed to afford a poor aliment, and was given to the Roman soldiers instead of wheat, by way of punishment

Clarke: Rev 6:6

Hurt not the oil and the wine - Be sparing of these: use them not as delicacies, but for necessity; because neither the vines nor the olives will be productive.

Clarke: Rev 6:7

The fourth beast - That which had the face of an eagle.

Clarke: Rev 6:8

A pale horse - The symbol of death. Pallida mors , pale death, was a very usual poetic epithet; of this symbol there can be no doubt, because it is immediately said, His name that sat on him was Death

Clarke: Rev 6:8

And hell followed with him - The grave, or state of the dead, received the slain. This is a very elegant prosopopaeia, or personification

Clarke: Rev 6:8

Over the fourth part of the earth - One fourth of mankind was to feel the desolating effects of this seal

Clarke: Rev 6:8

To kill with sword - War; with hunger - Famine; with death - Pestilence; and with the beasts of the earth - lions, tigers, hyenas, etc., which would multiply in consequence of the devastations occasioned by war, famine, and pestilence.

Clarke: Rev 6:9

The fifth seal - There is no animal nor any other being to introduce this seal, nor does there appear to be any new event predicted; but the whole is intended to comfort the followers of God under their persecutions, and to encourage them to bear up under their distresses

Clarke: Rev 6:9

I saw under the altar - A symbolical vision was exhibited, in which he saw an altar; and under it the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God - martyred for their attachment to Christianity, are represented as being newly slain as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in heaven.

Clarke: Rev 6:10

And they cried with a loud voice - That is, their blood, like that of Abel, cried for vengeance; for we are not to suppose that there was any thing like a vindictive spirit in those happy and holy souls who had shed their blood for the testimony of Jesus. We sometimes say Blood cries for blood; that is, in the order of Divine justice, every murderer, and every murdering persecutor, shall be punished

Clarke: Rev 6:10

O Lord - Ὁ Δεσποτης· Sovereign Lord, supreme Ruler; one having and exercising unlimited and uncontrolled authority

Clarke: Rev 6:10

Holy - In thy own nature, hating iniquity

Clarke: Rev 6:10

And true - In all thy promises and threatenings

Clarke: Rev 6:10

Dost thou not judge - The persecutors

Clarke: Rev 6:10

And avenge our blood - Inflict signal punishment

Clarke: Rev 6:10

On them that dwell on the earth? - Probably meaning the persecuting Jews; they dwelt επι της γης, upon that land, a form of speech by which Judea is often signified in the New Testament.

Clarke: Rev 6:11

White robes - The emblems of purity, innocence, and triumph

Clarke: Rev 6:11

They should rest yet for a little season - This is a declaration that, when the cup of the iniquity of the Jews should be full, they should then be punished in a mass. They were determined to proceed farther, and God permits them so to do; reserving the fullness of their punishment till they had filled up the measure of their iniquity. If this book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, as is most likely, then this destruction is that which was to fall upon the Jews; and the little time or season was that which elapsed between their martyrdom, or the date of this book, and the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, under Vespasian and his son Titus, about a.d. 70. What follows may refer to the destruction of the heathen Roman empire.

Clarke: Rev 6:12

The sixth seal - This seal also is opened and introduced by Jesus Christ alone

Clarke: Rev 6:12

A great earthquake - A most stupendous change in the civil and religious constitution of the world. If it refer to Constantine the Great, the change that was made by his conversion to Christianity might be very properly represented under the emblem of an earthquake, and the other symbols mentioned in this and the following verses

The sun - the ancient pagan government of the Roman empire, was totally darkened; and, like a black hair sackcloth, was degraded and humbled to the dust

The moon - the ecclesiastical state of the same empire, became as blood - was totally ruined, their sacred rites abrogated, their priests and religious institutions desecrated, their altars cast down, their temples destroyed, or turned into places for Christian worship.

Clarke: Rev 6:13

The stars of heaven - The gods and goddesses, demi-gods, and deified heroes, of their poetical and mythological heaven, were prostrated indiscriminately, and lay as useless as the figs or fruit of a tree shaken down before ripe by a tempestuous wind.

Clarke: Rev 6:14

And the heaven departed as a scroll - The whole system of pagan and idolatrous worship, with all its spiritual, secular, and superstitious influence, was blasted, shrivelled up, and rendered null and void, as a parchment scroll when exposed to the action of a strong fire

Clarke: Rev 6:14

And every mountain - All the props, supports, and dependencies of the empire, whether regal allies, tributary kings, dependent colonies, or mercenary troops, were all moved out of their places, so as to stand no longer in the same relation to that empire, and its worship, support, and maintenance, as they formerly did

Clarke: Rev 6:14

And island - The heathen temples, with their precincts and enclosures, cut off from the common people, and into which none could come but the privileged, may be here represented by islands, for the same reasons.

Clarke: Rev 6:15

The kings of the earth, etc. - All the secular powers who had endeavored to support the pagan worship by authority, influence, riches, political wisdom, and military skill; with every bondman - all slaves, who were in life and limb addicted to their masters or owners

Clarke: Rev 6:15

And every freeman - Those who had been manumitted, commonly called freedmen, and who were attached, through gratitude, to the families of their liberators. All hid themselves - were astonished at the total overthrow of the heathen empire, and the revolution which had then taken place.

Clarke: Rev 6:16

Said to the mountains and rocks - Expressions which denote the strongest perturbation and alarm. They preferred any kind of death to that which they apprehended from this most awful revolution

Clarke: Rev 6:16

From the face of him that sitteth on the throne - They now saw that all these terrible judgments came from the Almighty; and that Christ, the author of Christianity, was now judging, condemning, and destroying them for their cruel persecutions of his followers.

Clarke: Rev 6:17

For the great day of his wrath - The decisive and manifest time in which he will execute judgment on the oppressors of his people

Clarke: Rev 6:17

Who shall be able to stand? - No might can prevail against the might of God. All these things may literally apply to the final destruction of Jerusalem, and to the revolution which took place in the Roman empire under Constantine the Great. Some apply them to the day of judgment; but they do not seem to have that awful event in view. These two events were the greatest that have ever taken place in the world, from the flood to the eighteenth century of the Christian era; and may well justify the strong figurative language used above

Through I do not pretend to say that my remarks on this chapter point out its true signification, yet I find others have applied it in the same way. Dr. Dodd observes that the fall of Babylon, Idumea, Judah, Egypt, and Jerusalem, has been described by the prophets in language equally pompous, figurative, and strong. See Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4, concerning Babylon and Idumea; Jer 4:23, Jer 4:24, concerning Judah; Eze 32:7, concerning Egypt; Joe 2:10, Joe 2:31, concerning Jerusalem; and our Lord himself, Mat 24:29, concerning the same city. "Now,"says he, "it is certain that the fall of any of these cities or kingdoms was not of greater concern or consequence to the world, nor more deserving to be described in pompous figures, than the fall of the pagan Roman empire, when the great lights of the heathen world, the sun, moon, and stars, the powers civil and ecclesiastical, were all eclipsed and obscured, the heathen emperors and Caesars were slain, the heathen priests and augurs were extirpated, the heathen officers and magistrates were removed, the temples were demolished, and their revenues were devoted to better uses. It is customary with the prophets, after they have described a thing in the most symbolical and figurative manner, to represent the same again in plainer language; and the same method is observed here, Rev 6:15-17 : And the kings of the earth, etc. That is, Maximin, Galerius, Maxentius, Licinius, etc., with all their adherents and followers, were so routed and dispersed that they hid themselves in dens, etc.; expressions used to denote the utmost terror and confusion. This is, therefore, a triumph of Christ over his heathen enemies, and a triumph after a severe persecution; so that the time and all the circumstances, as well as the series and order of the prophecy, agree perfectly with this interpretation. Galerius, Maximin, and Licinius, made even a public confession of their guilt, recalled their decrees and edicts against the Christians, and acknowledged the just judgments of God and of Christ in their own destruction."See Newton, Lowman, etc., and Dr. Dodd on this chapter, with the works of several more recent authors.

Defender: Rev 6:1

The Lamb had received the title deed to the earth, but now the seals must be broken and the full writing disclosed to the world. As each successive seal is broken, the Lord will unleash successive great judgments on the earth, with the ultimate end of purging the earth of its age-long domination by Satan.

Defender: Rev 6:1

Certain manuscripts omit the words "and see," but the weight of manuscript evidence favors their retention. The first four judgments mark the sending forth of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and, as each emerges, one of the four "living ones" invites John to "come and see." John, who had been commanded to write what he saw (Rev 1:11), then immediately responds: "And I saw [beheld, looked] ..." (Rev 6:2, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:8, Rev 6:9, Rev 6:12)."

Defender: Rev 6:2

Many futurist commentators interpret the rider on the white horse to be the Antichrist, who they say is seeking to imitate Christ as he appears as the conquering Rider on the white horse in Rev 19:11. This interpretation seems inappropriate. The coming Antichrist is not a "false Christ," pretending to be Christ, but the ultimate Antichrist, openly opposing Christ and seeking to destroy all Christian believers and everything for which Christ stands. The Antichrist, or Beast, will receive his power and authority from Satan (Rev 11:7; Rev 13:7).

The proper interpretation is to view Christ as the rider; remember that each judgment of the seven seals is sent forth by Christ, not Satan. Furthermore, it is eminently fitting that the conquering Christ should be seen as riding forth both at the beginning of His cleansing judgments on the earth, and then again at their climactic completion (Rev 6:2; Rev 19:11). Throughout the events of Revelation 6 through 19, as the successive seal judgments are sent forth, He is gradually "conquering" and is destined finally "to conquer" completely."

Defender: Rev 6:4

This judgment correlates to 1Th 5:3 : "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them ... and they shall not escape." There is little peace in the world today, with local wars or guerrilla activities in some fifty different nations, not to mention record violent crime in schools and on the streets. The world is urgently looking for a world leader who can bring real peace to the earth. When the Antichrist comes, he will do just that but only for a very brief period. When the red horse rides, wars, crime and anarchy will fill the earth as never before in history because the restraining influence of Christians in the world will have been removed by the rapture (see note on 2Th 2:1-12)."

Defender: Rev 6:5

The black horse speaks of worldwide famine. This will be the period of the two witnesses (Rev 11:3-6), who will proclaim on the earth that these plagues are being sent by God from heaven. In particular, they will proclaim a worldwide drought for the 3 1/2 years of their testimony, and this will soon lead to worldwide famine, more severe than any famine in history."

Defender: Rev 6:6

This voice from heaven is apparently making ironic commentary on the earthly situation. The "penny" is the denarius , which represented a day's wage for a laborer. As the famine progresses, the cost of the necessary commodities of life will rise excessively, probably leading to widespread starvation. The "oil and wine," however, as luxuries of little food value, will still be plentiful for the indulgences of the rich. In fact, "oil" may refer prophetically to petroleum, even though this substance was not known in the New Testament period. Middle Eastern supplies of oil may become vital to the establishment of the Antichrist's world empire."

Defender: Rev 6:8

The "pale" horse is actually "green" (Greek chloros), the same word used for "green grass" in Rev 8:7. This also may be divine irony; green is normally associated with life, but the green horse is now ridden by Death.

Defender: Rev 6:8

The Lord Jesus Christ now has the keys to Death and Hell, according to His assertion in Rev 1:18. So it is clear that this fourth horseman, like the others, is unleashed by Him to judge the earth. Those who yield to the killing sword of the second horseman and the starvation brought by the third will be overtaken by Death, and Hades will swallow up their souls. There also will be many other causes of death (pestilence, suicide), so that a quarter of the world's population will die in the first year or two of the seven-year period of tribulation. This will amount to at least a billion people.

Defender: Rev 6:8

The word for "beasts" here is theerion, meaning "wild beasts." It is quite different from zoon, the word translated as beasts in Rev 4:1-11. It could suggest a proliferation of venomous snakes during this period. However, it is the same word used for "beast" in describing the coming Antichrist and his false prophet (Rev 13:2, Rev 13:11), so it could well refer to the fierce persecutions that will be carried out during this time by various regional dictators, all of whom will eventually yield their power to the Satan-possessed Beast, the most wicked and ruthless of all (Eze 14:21; Rev 13:7; Rev 17:13; Rev 20:13)."

Defender: Rev 6:9

Like the blood of the sacrifices under the ancient altar in the tabernacle (Lev 4:18), the souls of those new believers slain in these early years of the tribulation are seen as under the altar in the heavenly tabernacle (Heb 9:2-9).

Defender: Rev 6:9

Even though all believers will have been removed from the earth before the unleashing of these divine judgments, there will still be an abundance of silent witnesses. Remaining on earth will be Bibles, Christian literature, Christian films and tapes, etc., as well as the eternal witness in creation and conscience, plus the testimony of the two witnesses (Rev 11:3-7), and the 144,000 sealed Israelites (Rev 7:1-8). "When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isa 26:9)."

Defender: Rev 6:12

While the inhabitants of the earth are still suffering under the famines, plagues and violence of the earlier seal judgments, a great physical cataclysm will suddenly strike. For the first time in history, a global earthquake will convulse the earth, accompanied by tremendous volcanic eruptions, spewing vast quantities of dust particles into the upper atmosphere, turning the appearance of the sun into darkness and the moon blood-red. Note also that several Old Testament prophecies of the coming "day of the Lord" apparently predict the same catastrophe (Joe 2:30, Joe 2:31; Zep 1:15; Isa 13:9, Isa 13:10). Very little is known about the triggering causes of earthquakes, but they are attributed to great rock faults and tectonic instabilities. Perhaps occasioned in part by the worldwide droughts and falling water levels resulting from the earlier judgments, this global network of faults will somehow coalesce into one gigantic "shaking" of the whole earth (the Greek word for "earthquake" is seismos, which literally means "shaking" in this connection (Isa 2:19-21; Isa 13:13; Hag 2:6)."

Defender: Rev 6:13

The Greek word for "star" (iaster) can mean any object in the heavens, including planets, asteroids and meteorites. Planetary scientists have long been concerned with the possibility that a swarm of asteroids or giant meteorites would collide with the earth in its orbit, and that seems to be what John describes here. Perhaps this also is part of the trigger which unleashes the great earthquake. Isaiah says that when this happens, "the host of heaven shall be dissolved," and that "the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light" (Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4), evidently blotted out by the same volcanic dust cloud that darkens the sun."

Defender: Rev 6:14

This strange phenomenon (also predicted in Isa 34:4) may relate to the moving cloud of volcanic dust as it is rapidly carried across the sky, but an alternate possibility is that the global earthquake will cause the entire crust of the earth to shift, causing "every mountain and island" to be "moved out of their places" and the sky itself to appear to those on the earth's surface to "depart.""

Defender: Rev 6:15

Contrast the attitude of "the kings of the earth" mentioned in Psa 2:2 to their positions presented here in Revelation.

Defender: Rev 6:15

See Isa 2:19."

Defender: Rev 6:16

By this time, the people on earth will begin to realize that the great judgments are from God and the Lamb. God's witnesses will have been proclaiming this fact, and this may even have been "the testimony" of the martyrs (Rev 6:9) which led to their being put to death. Some conjecture that orbiting satellites will be transmitting scenes to earth showing the great assemblage high in the atmospheric heavens and the events taking place there at the throne of the Lamb."

Defender: Rev 6:17

The "great day of His wrath" constitutes the initial phase of "the day of the Lord" prophesied in many of the Old Testament Scriptures (Isa 13:9; Joe 1:15; Amo 5:18)."

TSK: Rev 6:1

when : Rev 5:5-7

the noise : Rev 4:5, Rev 10:3, Rev 10:4, Rev 11:19

one : Rev 6:3, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:7, Rev 4:6, Rev 4:7; Act 4:20

TSK: Rev 6:2

a white : This seems to be a representation of the person and dignity of Christ, and the mild and beneficent triumphs of his Gospel over all the powers of paganism. Rev 19:11, Rev 19:14; Zec 1:8, Zec 6:3-8

and he that : Psa 45:3-5, Psa 76:7

and a : Rev 14:14, Rev 19:12; Zec 6:11-13; Mat 28:18

and he went : Rev 11:15, Rev 11:18, Rev 15:2, Rev 17:14; Psa 98:1, Psa 110:2; Isa 25:8; Rom 15:18, Rom 15:19; 1Co 15:25, 1Co 15:55-57; 2Co 10:3-5

TSK: Rev 6:3

Rev 6:1, Rev 4:7

TSK: Rev 6:4

horse : Rev 12:3, Rev 17:3, Rev 17:6; Zec 1:8, Zec 6:2

power : Rev 13:10; Exo 9:16, Exo 9:17; Isa 37:26, Isa 37:27; Eze 29:18-20; Dan 2:37, Dan 2:38, Dan 5:19; Joh 19:11

and there : Psa 17:13; Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6; Eze 30:24, Eze 30:25

TSK: Rev 6:5

he had : Rev 6:1, Rev 4:6, Rev 4:7, Rev 5:5, Rev 5:9

a black : Zec 6:2, Zec 6:6

had : Lev 26:26; Lam 5:10; Eze 4:10,Eze 4:16

TSK: Rev 6:6

A measure : ""The word choenix signifieth a measure containing one wine-quart and the twelfth part of a quart."

and see : Rev 9:4; Psa 76:10

TSK: Rev 6:7

Rev 6:1, Rev 6:3, Rev 6:5, Rev 4:7

TSK: Rev 6:8

pale : Zec 6:3

was Death : Rev 20:13, Rev 20:14; Isa 25:8; Hos 13:14; Hab 2:5; 1Co 15:55 *marg.

unto them : or, to him

over : Rev 8:7-12, Rev 9:15, Rev 9:18, Rev 12:4

kill : Lev 26:22-33; Jer 15:2, Jer 15:3, Jer 16:4, Jer 16:16, Jer 43:11; Eze 5:15-17, Eze 14:13-21

TSK: Rev 6:9

I saw : Rev 8:3, Rev 9:13, Rev 14:18; Lev 4:7; Joh 16:2 *Gr: Phi 2:17; 2Ti 4:6

the souls : Rev 20:4; 2Co 5:8; Phi 1:23

slain : Rev 1:9, Rev 2:13, Rev 11:3-7, Rev 12:11-17, Rev 19:10; 2Ti 1:8

TSK: Rev 6:10

they cried : Gen 4:10; Psa 9:12; Luk 18:7, Luk 18:8; Heb 12:24

How : Psa 13:1, Psa 35:17, Psa 74:9, Psa 74:10, Psa 94:3, Psa 94:4; Dan 8:13, Dan 12:6; Zec 1:12

holy : Rev 3:7, Rev 15:3, Rev 15:4

dost : Rev 11:18, Rev 16:5-7, Rev 18:20,Rev 18:24, Rev 19:2; Deu 32:36-43; Jdg 16:28; 1Sa 24:12; Psa 58:10,Psa 58:11; Isa 61:2, Isa 63:1-6; Luk 21:22; Rom 12:19; 2Th 1:6-8

avenge : This seal seems a prediction of the terrible persecution of the church under Dioclesian and Maximian, from ad 270 to 304, which lasted longer, and was far more bloody, than any or all by which it was preceded, whence it was called ""the era of the martyrs.""

TSK: Rev 6:11

white : Rev 3:4, Rev 3:5, Rev 7:9, Rev 7:14

that they : Rev 14:13; Isa 26:20,Isa 26:21; Dan 12:13

until : Rev 7:14, Rev 13:15, Rev 17:6; Mat 10:21, Mat 23:34, Mat 23:35; Joh 16:2; Heb 11:40

TSK: Rev 6:12

there : Rev 8:5, Rev 11:13, Rev 16:18; 1Ki 19:11-13; Isa 29:6; Amo 1:1; Zec 14:5; Mat 24:7; Mat 27:54, Mat 28:2

the sun : Isa 13:9, Isa 13:10, Isa 24:23, Isa 60:19, Isa 60:20; Eze 32:7, Eze 32:8; Joe 2:10,Joe 2:30,Joe 2:31, Joe 3:15; Amo 8:9; Hag 2:6, Hag 2:7, Hag 2:21, Hag 2:22; Mat 24:29, Mat 27:45; Mar 13:24, Mar 13:25, Mar 15:33; Luk 23:44, Luk 23:45; Act 2:19, Act 2:20

TSK: Rev 6:13

the stars : Rev 8:10-12, Rev 9:1; Eze 32:7; Dan 8:10; Luk 21:25

untimely figs : or green figs

of a : Isa 7:2, Isa 33:9; Dan 4:14; Nah 3:12

TSK: Rev 6:14

the heaven : Psa 102:26; Isa 34:4; Heb 1:11-13; 2Pe 3:10

and every : Rev 16:20; Isa 2:14-17; Jer 3:23, Jer 4:23-26, Jer 51:25; Hab 3:6, Hab 3:10

TSK: Rev 6:15

the kings : Rev 18:9-11, Rev 19:13-21; Job 34:19, Job 34:20; Psa 2:10-12, Psa 49:1, Psa 49:2, Psa 76:12, Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6; Isa 24:21, Isa 24:22

hid : Jos 10:16, Jos 10:17; Jdg 6:2; 1Sa 13:6; Isa 2:10,Isa 2:19, Isa 42:22; Mic 7:17; Heb 11:38

TSK: Rev 6:16

Fall : Rev 10:6; Jer 8:3; Hos 10:8; Luk 23:30

the face : Rev 4:2, Rev 4:5, Rev 4:9, Rev 20:11

and from : Rev 6:10, Rev 19:15; Psa 2:9-12, Psa 14:5, Psa 21:8-12, Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6; Zec 1:14, Zec 1:15; Mat 26:64; 2Th 1:7-9

TSK: Rev 6:17

the great : Rev 11:18, Rev 16:14; Isa. 13:6-22; Jer 30:7; Joe 2:31; Zep 1:14-18; Rom 2:5; Jud 1:6

who : Psa 76:7, Psa 130:3, Psa 130:4; Joe 2:11; Mal 3:2

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Rev 6:1

And I saw - Or, I looked. He fixed his eye attentively on what was passing, as promising important disclosures. No one had been found in the universe who could open the seals but the Lamb of God Rev 5:2-4; and it was natural for John, therefore, to look upon the transaction with profound interest.

When the Lamb opened one of the seals - See the notes on Rev 5:1, Rev 5:5. This was the first or outermost of the seals, and its being broken would permit a certain portion of the volume to be unrolled and read. See the notes on Rev 5:1. The representation in this place is, therefore, that of a volume with a small portion unrolled, and written on both sides of the parchment.

And I heard, as it were the noise of thunder - One of the four living creatures speaking as with a voice of thunder, or with a loud voice.

One of the four beasts - notes on Rev 4:6-7. The particular one is not mentioned, though what is said in the subsequent verses leaves no doubt that it was the first in order as seen by John - the one like a lion, Rev 4:7. In the opening of the three following seals, it is expressly said that it was the second, the third, and the fourth of the living creatures that drew near, and hence the conclusion is certain that the one here referred to was the first. If the four living creatures be understood to be emblematic of the divine providential administration, then there was a propriety that they should be represented as summoning John to witness what was to be disclosed. These events pertained to the developments of the divine purposes, and these emblematic beings would therefore be interested in what was occurring.

Come and see - Addressed evidently to John. He was requested to approach and see with his own eyes what was disclosed in the portion of the volume now unrolled. He had wept much Rev 5:4 that no one was found who was worthy to open that book, but he was now called on to approach and see for himself. Some have supposed (Lord, in loco) that the address here was not to John, but to the horse and his rider, and that the command to them was not to "come and see,"but to come forth, and appear on the stage, and that the act of the Redeemer in breaking the seal, and unrolling the scroll, was nothing more than an emblem signifying that it was by his act that the divine purposes were to be unfolded. But, in order to this interpretation, it would be necessary to omit from the Received Text the words καὶ βλέπε kai blepe - "and see."This is done, indeed, by Hahn and Tittmann, and this reading is followed by Prof. Stuart, though he says that the received text has "probability"in its favor, and is followed by some of the critical editions. The most natural interpretation, however, is that the words were addressed to John. John saw the Lamb open the seal; he heard the loud voice; he looked and beheld a white horse - that is, evidently, he looked on the unfolding volume, and saw the representation of a horse and his rider. That the voice was addressed to John is the common interpretation, is the most natural, and is liable to no real objection.

Barnes: Rev 6:2

And I saw, and behold - A question has arisen as to the mode of representation here: whether what John saw in these visions was a series of pictures, drawn on successive portions of the volume as one seal was broken after another; or whether the description of the horses and of the events was written on the volume, so that John read it himself, or heard it read by another; or whether the opening of the seal was merely the occasion of a scenic representation, in which a succession of horses was introduced, with a written statement of the events which are referred to. Nothing is indeed said by which this can be determined with certainty; but the most probable supposition would seem to be that there was some pictorial representation in form and appearance, such as he describes in the opening of the six seals. In favor of this it may be observed:

(1)\caps1     t\caps0 hat, according to the interpretation of Rev 6:1, it was something in or on the volume - since he was invited to draw nearer, in order that he might contemplate it.

(2)\caps1     e\caps0 ach one of the things under the first five seals, where John uses the word "saw,"is capable of being represented by a picture or painting.

(3)\caps1     t\caps0 he language used is not such as would have been employed if he had merely read the description, or had heard it read.

(4)\caps1     t\caps0 he supposition that the pictorial representation was not in the volume, but that the opening of the seal was the occasion merely of causing a scenic representation to pass before his mind, is unnatural and forced.

What would be the use of a sealed volume in that case? What the use of the writing within and without? On this supposition the representation would be that, as the successive seals were broken, nothing was disclosed in the volume but a succession of blank portions, and that the mystery or the difficulty was not in anything in the volume, but in the want of ability to summon forth these successive scenic representations. The most obvious interpretation is, undoubtedly, that what John proceeds to describe was in some way represented in the volume; and the idea of a succession of pictures or drawings better accords with the whole representation, than the idea that it was a mere written description. In fact, these successive scenes could be well represented now in a pictorial form on a scroll.

And behold a white horse - In order to any definite understanding of what was denoted by these symbols, it is proper to form in our minds, in the first place, a clear conception of what the symbol properly represents, or an idea of what it would naturally convey. It may be assumed that the symbol was significant, and that there was some reason why that was used rather than another; why, for instance, a horse was employed rather than an eagle or a lion; why a white horse was employed in one case, and a red one, a black one, a pale one in the others; why in this case a bow was in the hand of the rider, and a crown was placed on his head. Each one of these particulars enters into the constitution of the symbol; and we must find something in the event which fairly corresponds with each - for the symbol is made up of all these things grouped together. It may be further observed, that where the general symbol is the same - as in the opening of the first four seals - it may be assumed that the same object or class of objects is referred to; and the particular things denoted, or the diversity in the general application, is to be found in the variety in the representation - the color, etc., of the horse, and the arms, apparel, etc., of the rider. The specifications under the first seal are four:

(1)\caps1     t\caps0 he general symbol of the horse - common to the first four seals;

(2)\caps1     t\caps0 he color of the horse;

(3)\caps1     t\caps0 he fact that he that sat on him had a bow; and,

(4)\caps1     t\caps0 hat a crown was given him by someone, as indicative of victory.

The question now is, what these symbols would naturally denote:

(1) The horse. The meaning of this symbol must be drawn from the natural use to which the symbol is applied, or the characteristics which it is known to have; and it may be added, that there might have been something for which that was best known in the time of the writer who uses it, which would not be so prominent at another period of the world, or in another country, and that it is necessary to have that before the mind in order to obtain a correct understanding of the symbol. The use of the horse, for instance, may have varied at different times to some degree; at one time the prevailing use of the horse may have been for battle; at another for rapid marches - as of cavalry; at another for draught; at another for races; at another for conveying messages by the establishment of posts or the appointment of couriers. To an ancient Roman the horse might suggest prominently one idea; to a modern Arab another; to a teamster in Holland another. The things which would be most naturally suggested by the horse as a symbol, as distinguished, for instance, from an eagle, a lion, a serpent, etc., would be the following:

(a) War, as this was probably one of the first uses to which the horse was applied. So, in the magnificent description of the horse in Job 39:19-25, no notice is taken of any of his qualities but those which pertain to war. See, for a full illustration of this passage, and of the frequent reference in the classic writers to the horse as connected with war, Bochart, Hieroz. lib. ii, c. viii., particularly p. 149. Compare Virgil, Geor. 3:83, 84:

"Si qua sonum procul arma dedere,

Stare loco nescit, micat auribus, et tremit artus ."

Ovid, Metam . iii:

"Ut fremit acer equus, cum bellicus, aere canoro.

Signa dedit tubicen, pugnaeque assumit amorem ."

Silius, lib. xiii:

"Is trepido alituum tinnitu, et stare neganti,

Imperitans violenter equo ."

So Solomon says Pro 21:31, "The horse is prepared against the day of battle."So in Zec 10:3, the prophet says, God had made the house of Judah "as his goodly horse in the battle"; that is, he had made them like the victorious war-horse.

(b) As a consequence of this, and of the conquests achieved by the horse in war, he became the symbol of conquest - of a people that could not be overcome. Compare the above reference in Zech. Thus, in Carthage the horse was an image of victorious war, in contradistinction to the ox, which was an emblem of the arts of peaceful agriculture. This was based on a tradition respecting the foundation of the city, referred to by Virgil, Aeneas i. 442-445:

"Quo primum jactati undis et turbine Poeni.

Effodere loco signum, quod regia Juno.

Monstrarat, caput acris equi: sic nam fore bello.

Egregiam, et facilem victu per Secula gentem ."

In reference to this circumstance Justin (lib. xviii. 5) remarks, that "in laying the foundations of the city the head of an ox was found, which was regarded as an emblem of a fruitful land, but of the necessity of labor and of dependence; on which account the city was transferred to another place. Then the head of a horse was found, and this was regarded as a happy omen that the city would be warlike and prosperous."Compare Creuzer, Symbolik, vol. ii. p. 456.

© The horse was an emblem of fleetness, and, consequently, of the rapidity of conquest. Compare Joe 2:4; "The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run."Jer 4:13; "behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles."Compare Job 39:18.

(d) The horse is an emblem of strength, and consequently of safety. Psa 147:10; "he delighteth not in the strength of the horse."In general, then, the horse would properly symbolize war, conquest, or the rapidity with which a message is conveyed. The particular character or complexion of the event - as peaceful or warlike, prosperous or adverse - is denoted by the color of the horse, and by the character of the rider.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he color of the horse: "a white horse."It is evident that this is designed to be significant, because it is distinguished from the red, the black, and the pale horse, referred to in the following verses. In general, it may be observed that white is the emblem of innocence, purity, prosperity - as the opposite is of sickness, sin, calamity. If the significance of the emblem turned alone on the color, we should look to something cheerful, prosperous, happy as the thing that was symbolized. But the significance in the case is to be found not only in the color - white - but in the horse that was white; and the inquiry is, what would a horse of that color properly denote; that is, on what occasions, and with reference to what ends, was such a horse used? Now, the general notion attached to the mention of a white horse, according to ancient usage, would be that of state and triumph, derived from the fact that white horses were rode by conquerors on the days of their triumph; that they were used in the marriage cavalcade; that they were employed on coronation occasions, etc. In the triumphs granted by the Romans to their victorious generals, after a procession composed of musicians, captured princes, spoils of battle, etc., came the conqueror himself, seated on a high chariot drawn by four white horses, robed in purple, and wearing a wreath of laurel (Eschenburg, "Man. of Class."Literature, p. 283. Compare Ovid de Arte Amandi, lib. v. 214). The name of λευκιππος leukippos - leucippos - was given to Proserpine, because she was borne from Hades to Olympus in a chariot drawn by white horses (Scol. Pind. Ol. vi. 161. See Creuzer’ s Symbol . iv. 253). White horses are supposed, also, to excel others in fleetness. So Horace, Sat. lib. i. vii. 8:

"Sisennas, Barrosque ut equis praecurreret albis ."

So Plaut. Asin. ii. 2, 12. So Homer, Iliad K. 437:

Λευκότεροι χιονος, θείειν δ ̓ ἀνέμοισιν ὁμοῖοι

Leukoteroi chionos , theiein d' anemoisin homoioi "Whiter than the snow, and swifter than the winds."

And in the Aeneid , where Turnus was about to contend with Aeneas, he demanded horses:

"Qui candore nives anteirent cursibus auras ."

"Which would surpass the snow in whiteness, and the wind in fleetness"( Aeneas xii. 84).

So the poets everywhere describe the chariot of the sun as drawn by while horses (Bochart, ut supra ). So conquerors and princes are everywhere represented as borne on white horses. Thus, Propertius, lib. iv. eleg. i.:

"Quatuor huic albos Romulus egit equos ."

So Claudian, lib. ii., de Laudibus Stilichonis :

"Deposits mitis clypeo, candentibus urbem.

Ingreditur trabeatus equis ."

And thus Ovid (lib. i. de Arte) addresses Augustus, auguring that he would return a victor:

"Ergo erit illa dies, qua tu, Pulcherrime rerum,

Quatuor in niveis aureus ibis equis ."

The preference of "white"to denote triumph or victory was early referred to among the Hebrews. Thus, Jdg 5:10, in the Song of Deborah:

"Speak, ye that ride on white asses,

Ye that sit in judgment,

And walk by the way."

The expression, then, in the passage before us, would properly refer to some kind of triumph; to some joyous occasion; to something where there was success or victory; and, so far as this expression is concerned, would refer to any kind of triumph, whether of the gospel or of victory in war.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he bow: "and he that sat on him had a bow."The bow would be a natural emblem of war - as it was used in war; or of hunting - as it was used for that purpose. It was a common instrument of attack or defense, and seems to have been early invented, for it is found in all rude nations. Compare Gen 27:3; Gen 48:22; Gen 49:24; Jos 24:12; 1Sa 18:4; Psa 37:15; Isa 7:24. The bow would be naturally emblematic of the following things:

(a)    War. See the passages above.

(b)    Hunting. Tires it was one of the emblems of Apollo as the god of hunting.

©    The effect of truth - as what secured conquest, or overcame opposition in the heart.

So far as this emblem is concerned, it might denote a warrior, a hunter, a preacher, a ruler - anyone who exerted power over others, or who achieved any kind of conquest over them.

\caps1 (4) t\caps0 he crown: "and a crown was given unto him."The word used here - στέφανος stephanos - means a circlet, chaplet, or crown - usually such as was given to a victor, 1Co 9:25. It would properly be emblematic of victory or conquest - as it was given to victors in war, or to the victors at the Grecian games, and as it is given to the saints in heaven regarded as victors, Rev 4:4, Rev 4:10; 2Ti 4:8. The crown or chaplet here was "given"to the rider as significant that he would be victorious, not that he had been; and the proper reference of the emblem was to some conquest yet to be made, not to any which had been made. It is not said by whom this was given to the rider; the material fact being only that such a diadem was conferred on him.

\caps1 (5) t\caps0 he going forth to conquest: "and he went forth, conquering and to conquer."He went forth as a conqueror, and that he might conquer. That is, he went forth with the spirit, life, energy, determined purpose of one who was confident that he would conquer, and who had the port and bearing of a conqueror. John saw in him two things: one, that he had the aspect or port of a conqueror - that is, of one who had been accustomed to conquest, and who was confident that he could conquer; the ether was, that this was clearly the design for which he went forth, and this would be the result of his going forth.

Having thus inquired into the natural meaning of the emblems used, perhaps the proper work of an expositor is done, and the subject might be left here. But the mind naturally asks what was this designed to signify, and to what events are these things to be applied? On this point it is scarcely necessary to say, that the opinions of expositors have been almost as numerous as the expositors themselves, and that it would be a hopeless task, and as useless as hopeless, to attempt to enumerate all the opinions entertained. They who are desirous of examining those opinions must be referred to the various books on the Apocalypse where they may be found. Perhaps all the opinions entertained, though presented by their authors under a great variety of forms, might be referred to three:

(1) That the whole passage in Rev. 6\endash 11 refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the wasting of Judaea, principally by the Romans - and particularly the humiliation and prostration of the Jewish persecuting enemies of the church: on the supposition that the book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem. This is the opinion of Prof. Stuart, and of those generally who hold that the book was written at that time.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he opinion of those who suppose that the book was written in the time of Domitian, about 95 or 96 a.d., and that the symbols refer to the Roman affairs subsequent to that time. This is the opinion of Mede, Elliott, and others.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he opinions of those who suppose that the different horses and horsemen refer to the Saviour, to ministers of the gospel, and to the various results of the ministry. This is the opinion of Mr. David C. Lord and others. My purpose does not require me to examine these opinions in detail. Justice could not be done to them in the limited compass which I have; and it is better to institute a direct inquiry whether any events are known which can be regarded as corresponding with the symbols here employed. In regard to this, then, the following things may be referred to:

(a) It will be assumed here, as elsewhere in these notes, that the Apocalypse was written in the time of Domitian, about 95 a.d. or 96 a.d. For the reasons for this opinion, see the Introduction, 2. Compare an article by Dr. Geo. Duffield in the Biblical Repository , July, 1847, pp. 385-411. It will also be assumed that the book is inspired, and that it is not to be regarded and treated as a work of mere human origin. These suppositions will preclude the necessity of any reference in the opening of the seals to the time of Nero, or to the events pertaining to the destruction of Jerusalem and the over throw of the Jewish persecuting enemies of the church - for the opinion that those events are referred to can be held only on one of two suppositions: either that the work was written in the time of Nero, and before the Jewish wars, as held by Prof. Stuart and others; or that it was penned after the events referred to had occurred, and is such a description of the past as could have been made by one who was uninspired.

(b) It is to be presumed that the events referred to, in the opening of the first seal, would occur soon after the time when the vision appeared to John in Patmos. This is clear, not only because that would be the most natural supposition, but because it is fairly implied in Rev 1:1; "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass."See the notes on that verse. Whatever may be said of some of those events - those lying most remotely in the series - it would not accord with the fair interpretation of the language to suppose that the beginning of the series would be far distant, and we therefore naturally look for that beginning in the age succeeding the time of the apostle, or the reign of Domitian.

© The inquiry then occurs whether there were any such events in that age as would properly be symbolized by the circumstances before us - the horse; the color of the horse; the how in the hand of the rider; the crown given him; the state and hearing of the conqueror.

(d) Before proceeding to notice what seems to me to be the interpretation which best accords with all the circumstances of the symbol, it may be proper to refer to the only other one which has any plausibility, and which is adopted by Grotius, by the author of Hyponoia, by Dr. Keith (Signs of the Times, 1:181ff), by Mr. Lord, and others, that this refers to Christ and his church - to Christ and his ministers in spreading the gospel. The objections to this class of interpretations seem to me to be insuperable:

(1) The whole description, so far as it is a representation of triumph, is a representation of the triumph of war, not of the gospel of peace. All the symbols in the opening of the first four seals are warlike; all the consequences in the opening of each of the seals where the horseman appears, are such as are usually connected with war. It is the march of empire, the movement of military power.

\caps1 (2) a\caps0 horseman thus armed is not the usual representation of Christ, much less of his ministers or of his church. Once indeed Rev 19:14-16 Christ himself is thus represented; but the ordinary representation of the Saviour in this book is either that of a man - majestic and glorious, holding the stars in his right hand - or of a lamb. Besides, if it were the design of the emblem to refer to Christ, it must be a representation of him personally and literally going forth in this manner; for it would be incongruous to suppose that this relates to him, and then to give it a metaphorical application, referring it not to himself, but to his truth, his gospel, his ministers.

\caps1 (3) i\caps0 f there is little probability that this refers to Christ, there is still less that it refers to ministers of the gospel - as held by Lord and others - for such a symbol is employed nowhere else to represent an order of ministers, nor do the circumstances find a fulfillment in them. The minister of the gospel is a herald of peace, and is employed in the service of the Prince of Peace. He cannot well be represented by a warrior, nor is he in the Scriptures. In itself considered, there is nothing more unlike or incongruous than a warrior going forth to conquest with hostile arms, and a minister of Christ.

\caps1 (4) b\caps0 esides, this representation of a horse and his rider, when applied in the following verses, on this principle becomes most forced and unnatural. If the warrior on the white horse denotes the ministry, then the warrior on the red horse, the black horse, the pale horse, must denote the ministry also, and nothing is more fanciful and arbitrary than to attempt to apply these to teachers of various kinds of error - error denoted by the red, black, and pale color - as must be done on that supposition. It seems plain, therefore, to me, that the representation was not designed to symbolize the ministry, or the state of the church considered with reference to its extension, or the various forms of belief which prevailed. But if so, it only remains to inquire whether a state of things existed in the Roman world of which these would be appropriate symbols. We have, then, the following facts, which are of such a nature as would properly be symbolized by the horse of the first seal; that is, they are such facts that if one were to undertake to devise an appropriate symbol of them since they occurred, they would be well represented by the image here employed:

(1) It was in general a period of prosperity, of triumph, of conquest - well represented by the horseman on the white horse going forth to conquest. I refer now to the period immediately succeeding the time of John’ s banishment, embracing some ninety years, anti extending through the successive reigns of Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, and the two Antonines, from the death of Domitian, 96 a.d., to the accession of Commodus, and the peace made by him with the Germans, 180 a.d. As an illustration of this period, and of the pertinency of the symbol, I will first copy from an historical chart drawn up with no reference to the symbol here, and in the mind of whose author the application to this symbol never occurred. The chart, distinguished for accuracy, is that of A.S. Lyman, published 1845 a.d. The following is the account of this period, beginning at the death of Domitian: "Domitian, a cruel tyrant, the last of the twelve Caesars."(His death, therefore, was an important epoch.) "96 a.d. Nerva, noted for his virtues, but enfeebled by age.""98 a.d. Trajan, a great general, and popular emperor; under him the empire attains its greatest extent.""117 a.d. Adrian, an able sovereign; spends thirteen years traveling through the empire, reforming abuses and rebuilding cities.""138 a.d. Antonions Pius, celebrated for his wisdom, virtue, and humanity.""161 a.d. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the Stoic Philosopher, noted for his virtues."

Then begins a new era - a series of wicked princes and of great calamities. The next entry in the series is, "180 a.d. Commodus, profligate and cruel."Then follows a succession of princes of the same general description. Their character will be appropriately considered under the succeeding seals. But in regard to the period now supposed to be represented by the opening of the first seal, anti the general applicability of the description here to that period, we have the fullest testimony in Mr. Gibbon, in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: a writer who, sceptic as he was, seems to have been raised up by Divine Providence to search deeply into historic records, and to furnish an inexhaustible supply of materials in confirmation of the fulfillment of the pro phecies, and of the truth of revelation. For:

\caps1 (1) h\caps0 e was eminently endowed by talent, and learning, and patience, and general candor, and accuracy, to prepare a history of that period of th world, and to place his name in the very first rank of historians.

\caps1 (2) h\caps0 is history commences at about the period supposed in this interpretation to be referred to by these symbols, and extends over a very considerable portion of the time embraced in the book of Revelation.

\caps1 (3) i\caps0 t cannot be alleged that he was biassed in his statements of facts by a desire to favor revelation; nor can it be charged on him that he perverted facts with a view to overthrow the authority of the volume of inspired truth. He was, indeed, thoroughly skeptical as to the truth of Christianity, and he lost no opportunity to express his feelings toward it by a sneer - for it seems to have been an unfortunate characteristic of his mind to sneer at everything - but there is no evidence that he ever designedly perverted a fact in history to press it into the service of infidelity, or that he designedly falsified a statement for the purpose of making it bear against Christianity. It cannot be suspected that he had any design, by the statements which he makes, to confirm the truth of Scripture prophecies. Infidels, at least, are bound to admit his testimony as impartial.

\caps1 (4) n\caps0 ot a few of the most clear and decisive proofs of the fulfillment of prophecies are to be found in his history. They are frequently such statements as would be expected to occur in the writings of a partial friend of Christianity who was endeavoring to make the records of history speak out in favor of his religion; and if they had been found in such a writer, they would be suspected of having been shaped with a view to the confirmation of the prophecies, and it may be added also with an intention to defend some favorite interpretation of the Apocalypse. In regard to the passage before us - the opening of the first seal and the general explanation of the meaning of that seal, above given, there is a striking resemblance between that representation and the state of the Roman empire as given by Mr. Gibbon at the period under consideration - from the end of the reign of Domitian to the accession of Commodes. By a singular coincidence Mr. Gibbon begins his history at about the period supposed to be referred to by the opening of the seal - the period following the death of Domitian, 96 a.d. Thus, in the opening sentences of his work he says: "In the second century of the Christian era the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind. During a happy period of more than fourscore years the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, and the two Antenines. It is the design of this and the two succeeding chapters to describe the prosperous condition of their empire; and afterward, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall; a revolution which will ever be remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth,"vol. i. 1.

Before Mr. Gibbon proceeds to give the history of the fall of the empire, he pauses to describe the happy condition of the Roman world during the period now referred to - for this is substantially his object in the first three chapters of his history. The titles of these chapters will show their object. They are respectively the following: Ch. i., "The Extent and Military Force of the Empire, in the Age of the Antonines"; ch. ii., "Of the Union and Internal Prosperity of the Roman Empire, in the Age of the Antonines"; ch. iii., "Of the Constitution of the Roman Empire, in the Age of the Antonines."In the language of another, this is "the bright ground of his historic picture, from which afterward more effectively to throw out in deep coloring the successive traits of the empire’ s corruption and decline"(Elliott). The introductory remarks of Mr. Gibbon, indeed, professedly refer to "the age of the Antenines"(138-180 a.d.); but that he designed to describe, under this general title, the actual condition of the Roman world during the period which I suppose to be embraced under the first seal, as a time of prosperity, triumph, and happiness - from Domitian to Commodes - is apparent from a remarkable statement which there will be occasion again to quote, in which he expressly designates this period in these words: "If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name what elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus,"i. 47.

The same thing is apparent also from a remark of Mr. Gibbon in the general summary which he makes of the Roman affairs, showing that this period constituted, in his view, properly an era in the condition of the world. Thus, he says (i. 4): "Such was the state of the Roman frontiers, and such the maxims of imperial policy, from the death of Augustus to the accession of Trajan."This was 98 a.d. The question now is, whether, during this period, the events in the Roman empire were such as accord with the representation in the first seal. There was nothing in the first century that could accord with this; and if John wrote the Apocalypse at the time supposed (95 or 96 a.d.), of course it does not refer to that. Respecting that century Mr. Gibbon remarks: "The only accession which the Roman empire received, during the first century of the Christian era, was the province of Britain. In this single instance the successors of Caesar and Augustus were persuaded to follow the example of the former rather than the precept of the latter. After a war of about forty years, undertaken by the most stupid, maintained by the most dissolute, and terminated by the most timid of all the emperors, the far greater part of the island submitted to the Roman yoke,"i. 2, 3.

Of course the representation in the first seal could not be applied to such a period as this. In the second century, however, and especially in the early part of it - the beginning of the period supposed to be embraced in the opening of the first seal - a different policy began to prevail, and though the main characteristic of the period, as a whole, was comparatively peaceful, yet it began with a career of conquests, and its general state might be characterized as triumph and prosperity. Thus, Mr. Gibbon speaks of Trajan on his accession after the death of Nerva: "That virtuous and active prince had received the education of a soldier, and possessed the talents of a general. The peaceful system of his predecessors was interrupted by scenes of war and conquest; and the legions, after a long interval, beheld a military emperor at their head. The first exploits of Trajan were against the Dacians, the most warlike of men, who dwelt beyond the Danube, and who, during the reign of Domitian, had insulted the majesty of Rome. This memorable war, with a very short suspension of hostilities, lasted five years; and as the emperor could exert, without control, the whole force of the state, it was terminated by an absolute submission of the barbarians. The new province of Dacia, which formed a second exception to the precept of Augustus, was about thirteen hundred miles in circumference,"i. 4.

Speaking of Trajan (p. 4), he says further: "The praises of Alexander, transmitted by a succession of poets and historians, had kindled a dangerous emulation in the mind of Trajan. Like him, the Roman emperor undertook an expedition against the nations of the East; but he lamented with a sigh that his advanced age scarcely left him any hopes of equalling the renown of the son of Phil Yet the success of Trajan, however transient, was rapid and specious. The degenerate Parthians, broken by intestine discord, fled before his arms. He descended the river Tigris, in triumph, from the mountains of Armenia to the Persian Gulf. He enjoyed the honor of being the first, as he was the last, of the Roman generals who ever navigated that remote sea. His fleets ravaged the coasts of Arabia; and Trajan vainly flattered himself that he was approaching toward the confines of India. Every day the astonished senate received the intelligence of new names and new nations that acknowledged his sway.

They were informed that the kings of Bosphorus, Colchis, lberia, Albania, Osrhoene, and even the Parthian monarch himself, had accepted their diadems from the hand of the emperor; that the independent tribes of the Median and Carduchian hills had implored his protection; and that the rich countries of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria were reduced into the state of provinces."Of such a reign what more appropriate symbol could there be than the horse and the rider of the first seal? If Mr. Gibbon had been writing a designed commentary on this, what more appropriate language could he have used in illustration of it? The reign of Hadrian, the successor of Trajan (117-138 a.d.), was comparatively a reign of peace - though one of his first acts was to lead an expedition into Britain: but though comparatively a time of peace, it was a reign of prosperity and triumph. Mr. Gibbon, in the following language, gives a general characteristic of that reign: "The life of Hadrian was almost a perpetual journey; and as he possessed the various talents of the soldier, the statesman, and the scholar, he gratified his curiosity in the discharge of his duty. careless of the difference of seasons and of climates, he marched on foot, and bareheaded, over the snows of Caledonia and the sultry plains of Upper Egypt; nor was there a province of the empire which, in the course of his reign, was not honored with the presence of the monarch,"p. 5.

On p. 6, Mr. Gibbon remarks of this period: "The Roman name was revered among the remote nations of the earth. The fiercest barbarians frequently submitted their differences to the arbitration of the emperor; and we are informed by a contemporary historian that he had seen ambassadors who were refused the honor which they came to solicit, of being admitted into the rank of subjects."And again, speaking of the reign of Hadrian, Mr. Gibbon remarks (i. 45): "Under his reign, as has been already mentioned, the empire flourished in peace and prosperity. He encouraged the arts, reformed the laws, asserted military discipline, and visited all the provinces in person."Hadrian was succeeded by the Antonines, Antoninus Pins and Marcus Aurelius (the former from 138 a.d. to 161 a.d.; the latter from 161 a.d. to the accession of Commodus, 180 a.d.). The general character of their reigns is well known.

It is thus stated by Mr. Gibbon: "The two Antenines governed the world for 42 years with the same invariable spirit of wisdom and virtue. Their united reigns are possibly the only period of history in which the happiness of a great people was the sole object of government,"i. 46. And after describing the state of the empire in respect to its military and naval character, its roads, and architecture, and constitution, and laws, Mr. Gibbon sums up the whole description of this period in the following remarkable words (vol. i. p. 47): "If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name what elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus. The vast extent of the Roman empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of virtue and wisdom. The armies were restrained by the firm but gentle hands of four successive emperors, whose characters and authority commanded involuntary respect. The forms of the civil administration were carefully preserved by Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines, who delighted in the image of liberty, and were pleased with considering themselves as the accountable ministers of the laws. Such princes deserved the honor of restoring the republic, had the Romans of their days been capable of enjoying a rational freedom."If it be supposed now that John designed to represent this period of the world, could he have chosen a more expressive and significant emblem of it than occurs in the horseman of the first seal? If Mr. Gibbon had intended to prepare a commentary on it, could he have shaped the facts of history so as better to furnish an illustration?

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he particular things represented in the symbol:

(a) The bow - a symbol of war. Mr. Elliott has endeavored to show that the bow at that period was especially the badge of the Cretians, and that Nerva, who succeeded Domitian, was a Cretian by birth. The argument is too long to be abridged here, but, if well founded, the fulfillment is remarkable; for although the sword or the javelin was usually the badge of the Roman emperor, if this were so, there would be a special propriety in making the bow the badge during this period. See Elliott, vol. 1, pp. 133-140. But whatever may be said of this, the bow was so generally the badge of a warrior, that there would be no impropriety in using it as a symbol of Roman victory.

(b) The crown - στέφανος stephanos - was, up to the time of Aurelian, 270 a.d. (see Spanheim, p. 60), the distinguishing badge of the Roman emperor; after that, the diadem, set with pearls and other jewels, was adopted and worn. The crown, composed usually of laurel, was properly the badge of the emperor considered as a military leader or commander. See Elliott, 1:130. At the period now under consideration the proper badge of the Roman emperor would be the crown; after the time of Aurelian, it would have been the diadem. In illustration of this, two engravings have been introduced, the first representing the emperor Nerva with the crown, or στέφανος stephanos , the second the emperor Valentinian, with the diadem.

© The fact that the crown was given to the rider. It was common among the Romans to represent an emperor in this manner; either on medals, bas-reliefs, or triumphal arches. The emperor appears going forth on horseback, and with Victory represented as either crowning him, or as preceding him with a crown in her hand to present to him. The engraving below, copied from one of the basreliefs on a triumphal arch erected to Claudius Drusus on occasion of his victories over the Germans, will furnish a good illustration of this, and, indeed, is so similar to the symbol described by John, that the one seems almost a copy of the other. Except that the bow is missing, nothing could have a closer resemblance; and the fact that such symbols were employed, and were well understood by the Romans, may be admitted to be a confirmation of the view above taken of the meaning of the first seal. Indeed, so many things combine to confirm this, that it seems impossible to be mistaken in regard to it: for if it should be supposed that John lived after this time, and that he meant to furnish a striking emblem of this period of Roman history, he could not have employed a more significant and appropriate symbol than he has done.

Barnes: Rev 6:3

And when he had opened the second seal - So as to disclose another portion of the volume. See the notes at Rev 5:1.

I heard the second beast say - The second beast was like a calf or an ox. See the notes at Rev 4:7. It cannot be supposed that there is any special significancy in the fact that the second beast addressed the seer on the opening of the second seal, or that, so far as the symbol was concerned, there was any reason why this living. creature should approach on the opening of this seal rather than on either of the others. All that seems to be designed is, that as the living creatures are intended to be emblems of the providential government of God, it was proper to represent that government as concerned in the opening of each of these four seals, indicating important events among the nations.

Come and see - See the notes on Rev 6:1.

Barnes: Rev 6:4

And there went out another horse - In this symbol there were, as in the others, several particulars which it is proper to explain in order that we may be able to understand its application. The particular things in the symbol are the following:

(a) The horse. See this explained in the notes on Rev 6:2.

(b) The color of the horse: another horse that was red. This symbol cannot be mistaken. As the white horse denoted prosperity, triumph, and happiness, so this would denote carnage, discord, bloodshed. This is clear, not only from the nature of the emblem, but from the explanation immediately added: "And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another."On the color, compare Bochart, Hieroz. P. 1, lib. 2, c. 7: p. 104. See also Zec 1:8. There is no possibility of mistaking this, that a time of slaughter is denoted by this emblem.

© The power given to him that sat on the horse: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. This would seem to indicate that the condition immediately preceding this was a condition of tranquility, and that this was now disturbed by some cause producing discord and bloodshed. This idea is confirmed by the original words - τὴν εἰρήνην tēn eirēnēn - "the peace"; that is, the previously existing peace. When peace in general is referred to, the word is used without the article: Mat 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace - βαλεῖν εἰρήνην balein eirēnēn - upon the earth."Compare Luk 1:79; Luk 2:14; Luk 19:38; Mar 5:34; Joh 14:27; Joh 16:33; Act 7:26; Act 9:31, et al. in the Greek. In these cases the word "peace"is without the article. The characteristics of the period referred to by this are:

(a)\caps1     t\caps0 hat peace and tranquility existed before;

(b)\caps1     t\caps0 hat such peace and tranquility were now taken away, and were succeeded by confusion and bloodshed; and,

©\caps1     t\caps0 hat the particular form of that confusion was civil discord, producing mutual slaughter: "that they should kill one another."

(d)    The presentation of a sword: and there was given unto him a great sword. As an emblem of what he was to do, or of the period that was referred to by the opening of the seal.

The sword is an emblem of war, of slaughter, of authority Rom 13:4, and is used here as signifying that that period would be characterized by carnage. Compare Isa 34:5; Rev 19:17-18; Lev 26:25; Gen 27:40; Mat 10:34; Mat 26:52. It is not said by whom the sword was presented, but the fact is merely referred to, that the rider wets presented with a sword as a symbol of what would occur.

In inquiring now into the period referred to by this symbol, we naturally look to what immediately succeeded the one which was represented by the opening of the first seal; that is, the period which followed the accession of Commodus, 180 a.d. We shall find, in the events which succeeded his accession to the empire, a state of things which remarkably accords with the account given by John in this emblem - so much so, that if it were supposed that the book was written after these events had occurred, and that John had designed to represent them by this symbol, he could not have selected a more appropriate emblem. The only authority which it is necessary to refer to here is Mr. Gibbon; who, as before remarked, seems to have been raised up by a special Providence to make a record of those events which were referred to by some of the most remarkable prophecies in the Bible. As he had the highest qualifications for an historian, his statements may be relied on as accurate; and as he had no belief in the inspiration of the prophetic records, his testimony will riot be charged with partiality in their favor. The following particulars, therefore, will furnish a full illustration of the opining of the second seal:

(a) The previous state of peace. This is implied in the expression, "and power was given to him to take peace from the earth."Of this we have had a full confirmation in the peaceful reign of Hadrian and tim Antenines. See the notes on the exposition of the first seal. Mr. Gibbon, speaking of the accession of Commodus to the imperial throne, says that he "had nothing to wish, and everything to enjoy. The beloved son of Marcus (Commodus) succeeded his father amidst the acclamations of the senate and armies; and when he ascended the throne, the happy youth saw around him neither competitor to remove, nor enemies to punish. In this calm elevated station, it was surely natural that he should prefer the love of mankind to their detestation; the mild glories of his five predecessors to the ignominions fate of Nero and Domitian,"i. 51. So again, on the same page, he says of Commodus, "His graceful person, popular address, and imagined virtues attracted the public favor; the honorable peace which he had recently granted to the barbarians diffused an universal joy."No one can doubt that the accession of Commodus was preceded by a remarkable prevalence of peace and prosperity.

(b) Civil war and bloodshed: to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. Of the applicability of this to the time supposed to be represented by this seal, we have the fullest confirmation in the series of civil wars commencing with the assassination of the emperor Commodus, 193 a.d., and continued, with scarcely any intervals of intermission, for 80 or 90 years. So Sismondi, on the fall of the Roman empire (i. 36), says, "With Commodus’ death commenced the third and most calamitous period. It lasted 92 years, from 193 to 284. During that time, 32 emperors, and 27 pretenders to the empire, alternately hurried each other from the throne, by incessant civil warfare. Ninety-two years of almost incessant civil warfare taught the world on what a frail foundation the virtue of the Antonines had reared the felicity of the empire."The full history of this period may be seen in Gibbon, i. pp. 50-197.

Of course it is impossible in these notes to present anything like a complete account of the characteristics of those times. Yet the briefest summary may well show the general condition of the Roman empire then, and the propriety of representing it by the symbol of a red horse, as a period when peace would be taken from the earth, and when people would kill one another. Commodus himself is represented by Mr. Gibbon in the following words: "Commodus was not, as be has been represented, a tiger, born with an insatiate thirst of human blood, and capable, from his infancy, of the most inhuman actions. Nature had formed him of a weak, rather than a wicked disposition. His simplicity and timidity rendered him the slave of his attendants, who gradually corrupted his mind. His cruelty, which at first obeyed the dictates of others, degenerated into habit, and at length became the ruling passion of his soul,"i. 51.

During the first three years of his reign "his hands were yet unstained with blood"(Ibid.), but he soon degenerated into a most severe and bloody tyrant, and "when Commodus had once tasted human blood, he was incapable of pity or remorse,"i. 52. "The tyrant’ s rage,"says Mr. Gibbon (i. 52), "after having shed the noblest blood of the senate, at length recoiled on the principal instrument of his cruelty. While Commodus was immersed in blood and luxury he devolved the detail of public business on Perennis, a servile and ambitious minister, who had obtained his post by the murder of his predecessor,"etc. "Every sentiment of virtue and humanity was extinct in the mind of Commodus,"i. 55. After detailing the history of his crimes, his follies, and his cruelties, Mr. Gibbon remarks of him: "His cruelty proved at last fatal to himself. He had shed with impunity the best blood of Rome: he perished as soon as he was dreaded by his own domestics. Marcia, his favorite concubine, Eclectus, his chamberlain, and Laetus, his pretorian prefect, alarmed by the fate of their companions and predecessor, resolved to prevent the destruction which every hour hung over their heads, either from the mad caprice of the tyrant, or the sudden indignation of the people. Marcia seized the occasion of presenting a draught of wine to her lover, after he had fatigued himself with hunting some wild beasts. Commodus retired to sleep; but while he was laboring with the effects of poison and drunkenness, a robust youth, by profession a wrestler, entered his chamber, and strangled him without resistance,"i. 57.

The immediate consequence of the assassination of Commodus was the elevation of Pertinax to the throne, and his murder eighty-six days after (Decline and Fall, i. 60). Then followed the public setting-up of the empire to sale by the pretorian guards, and its purchase by a wealthy Roman senator, Didius Julianus, or Julian, who, "on the throne of the world, found himself without a friend and without an adherent,"i. 63. "The streets and public places in Rome resounded with clamors and imprecations.""The public discontent was soon diffused from the center to the frontiers of the empire,"i. 63. In the midst of this universal indignation Septimius Severus, who then commanded the army in the neighborhood of the Danube, resolved to avenge the death of Pertinax, and to seize upon the imperial crown. He marched to Rome, overcame the feeble Julian, and placed himself on the throne. Julian, after having reigned 66 days, was beheaded in a private apartment of the baths of the palace, i. 67. "In less than four years Severus subdued the riches of the East, and the valor of the West. He vanquished two competitors of reputation and ability, and defeated numerous armies provided with weapons and discipline equal to his own,"i. 68.

Mr. Gibbon then enters into a detail of "the two civil wars against Niger and Albinus"- rival competitors for the empire (i. 68-70), both of whom were vanquished, and both of whom were put to death "in their flight from the field of battle."Yet he says, "Although the wounds of civil war were apparently healed, its mortal poison still lurked in the vitals of the constitution,"i. 71. After the death of Severus, then follows an account of the contentions between his sons, Geta and Caracalla, and of the death of the former by the instigation of the latter (i. 77); then of the remorse of Caracalla, in which it is said that "his disordered fancy often beheld the angry forms of his father and his brother rising into life to threaten and upbraid him"(i. 77); then of the cruelties which Caracalla inflicted on the friends of Geta, in which "it was computed that, under the vague appellation of the friends of Geta, above twenty thousand persons of both sexes suffered death"(i. 78); then of the departure of Caracalla from the capital, and his cruelties in other parts of the empire, concerning which Mr. Gibbon remarks (i. 78, 79), that "Caracalla was the common enemy of mankind. Every province was by turns the scene of his rapine and cruelty. In the midst of peace and repose, upon the slightest provocation, he issued his commands at Alexandria in Egypt for a general massacre. From a secure post in the temple of Serapis he viewed and directed the slaughter of many thousand citizens, as well as strangers, without distinguishing either the number or the crime of the sufferers,"etc.

Then follows the account of the assassination of Caracalla (i. 80); then, and in consequence of that, of the civil war which crushed Macrinus, and raised Elagabalus to the throne (i. 83); then of the life and follies of that wretched voluptuary, and of his massacre by the pretorian guards (i. 86); then, after an interval of thirteen years, of the murder of his successor, the second Severus, on the Rhine; then of the civil wars excited against his murderer and successor, Maximin, in which the two emperors of a day - the Gordians, father and son - perished in Africa, and Maximin himself, and his son, in the siege of Aquileia; then of the murder at Rome of the two joint emperors, Maximus and Balbinus; and quickly after that an account of the murder of their successor in the empire, the third and youngest Gordian, on the banks of the river Aboras; then of the slaughter of the next emperor Philip, together with his son and associate in the empire, in the battle near Verona: and this state of things may be said to have continued until the accession of Diocletian to the empire, 284 a.d. See Decline and Fall , i. 110-197. Does any portion of the history of the world present a similar period of connected history that would be so striking a fulfillment of the symbols used here of "peace being taken from the earth,"and "men killing one another?"In regard to this whole period it is sufficient, after reading Mr. Gibbon’ s account, to ask two questions:

(1) If it were supposed that John lived after this period, and designed to represent this by an expressive symbol, could he have found one that would have characterized it better than this does?

\caps1 (2) a\caps0 nd if it should be supposed that Mr. Gibbon designed to write a commentary on this "seal,"and to show the exact fulfillment of the symbol, could he have selected a better portion of history to do it, or could he have better described facts that would be a complete fulfillment? It is only necessary to observe further:

© that this is a marked and definite period. It has such a beginning, and such a continuance and ending, as to show that tiffs symbol was applicable to this as a period of the world. For it was not only preceded by a state of peace, as is supposed in the symbol, but no one can deny that the condition of things in the empire, from Commodus onward through many years, was such as to be appropriately designated by the symbol used here.

Barnes: Rev 6:5-6

And when he had opened the third seal - Unfolding another portion of the volume. See the notes on Rev 5:1.

I heard the third beast say, Come and see - See the notes on Rev 4:7. It is not apparent why the third beast is represented as taking a particular interest in the opening of this seal (compare the notes on Rev 6:3), nor is it necessary to show why it was so. The general design seems to have been, to represent each one of the four living creatures as interested in the opening of the seals, but the order in which they did this does not seem to be a matter of importance.

And I beheld, and lo, a black horse - The specifications of the symbol here are the following:

(a) As before, the horse. See the notes on Rev 6:2.

(b) The color of the horse: "lo, a black horse."This would properly denote distress and calamity - for black has been regarded always as such a symbol. So Virgil speaks of fear as black: "atrumque timorem "( Aen. ix. 619). So again, Georg. iv. 468:

"Caligantem nigra formidine lucum ."

So, as applied to the dying Acca, Aeneas xi. 825:

"Tenebris nigrescunt omnia circum ."

Black, in the Scriptures, is the image of fear, of famine, of death. Lam 5:10; "our skin was black like an oven, because of the terrible famine."Jer 14:2; "because of the drought Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are in deep mourning (literally, black) for the land."Joe 2:6; "all faces shall gather blackness."Nah 2:10; "the knees smite together, and there is great pain in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness."Compare Rev 6:12; Eze 32:7. See also Bochart, Hieroz. P. i. lib. ii. c. vii. pp. 106, 107. From the color of the horse here introduced we should naturally look for some dire calamity, though the nature of the calamity would not be designated by the mere use of the word "black."What the calamity was to be must be determined by what follows in the symbol. Famine, pestiilence, oppression, heavy taxation, tyranny, invasion - any of these might be denoted by the color of the horse.

© The balances: "and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand."The original word rendered here as "a pair of balances,"is ζυγὸν zugon . This word properly means a yoke, serving to couple anything together, as a yoke for cattle. Hence it is used to denote the beam of a balance, or of a pair of scales - and is evidently so used here. The idea is, that something was to be weighed, in order to ascertain either its quantity or its value. Scales or balances are the emblems of justice or equity (compare Job 31:6; Psa 62:9; Pro 11:1; Pro 16:11); and when joined with symbols that denote the sale of grain and fruit by weight, become the symbol of scarcity. Thus, "bread by weight"Lev 26:26 denotes scarcity. So in Eze 4:16, "And they shall eat bread by weight."The use of balances here as a symbol would signify that something was to be accurately and carefully weighed out.

The connection leads us to suppose that this would pertain to the necessaries of life, and that it would occur either in consequence of scarcity, or because there would be an accurate or severe exaction, as in collecting a revenue on these articles. The balance was commonly the symbol of equity and justice; but it was also, sometimes, the symbol of exaction and oppression, as in Hos 12:7; "The balance of deceit is in his hands; he loveth to oppress."If the balances stood alone, and there were no proclamation as to what was to occur, we should look, under this seal, to a time of the exact administration of justice, as scales or balances are now used as emblems of the rigid application of the laws and of the principles of justice in courts, or in public affairs. If this representation stood alone, or if the black horse and the scales constituted the whole of the symbol, we should look for some severe administration, or perhaps some heavy calamity under a rigorous administration of laws. The reference, however, to the "wheat and barley,"and to the price for which they were to be weighed out, serves still further to limit and define the meaning of the symbol as having reference to the necessaries of life - to the productions of the land - to the actual capital of the country. Whether this refers to scarcity, or to taxation, or both, must be determined by the other parts of the symbol.

(d) The proclamation: And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say. That is, from the throne, Rev 4:6. The voice was not that of one of the four beasts, but it seemed to come from among them. As the rider went forth, this was the proclamation that was made in regard to him; or this is what is symbolized in his going forth, to wit, that there would be such a state of things that a measure of wheat would be sold for a penny, etc. The proclamation consists essentially of two things - what refers to the price or value of wheat and barley, and what requires that care shall be taken not to injure the oil and the wine. Each of these demands explanation.

A measure of wheat for a penny - See the margin. The word rendered "measure"- χοῖνιξ choinix - denotes an Attic measure for grain and things dry, equal to the 48th part of the Attic medimnus, or the 8th part of the Roman modius, and consequently was nearly equivalent to one quart English (Robinson’ s Lexicon). The word rendered "penny," δηναρίον dēnarion - Latin, denarius - was of the same value as the Greek δραχμή drachmē , and was equivalent to about fourteen cents or seven-pence (circa mid-19th century). This was the usual price of a day’ s labor, Mat 20:2, Mat 20:9. The choenix, or measure of grain here referred to, was the ordinary daily allowance for one man ( Odyssey xix. 27, 28). See Stuart, in loco. The common price of the Attic medimnus of wheat was five or six denarii; but here, as that contained 48 choenixes or quarts, the price would be augmented to 48 denarii - or it would be about eight times as dear as ordinary; that is, there would be a scarcity or famine. The price of a bushel of wheat at this rate would be about four dollars and a half or 18 shillings - a price which would indicate great scarcity, and which would give rise to much distress.

And three measures of barley for a penny - It would seem from this that barley usually bore about one-third the price of wheat. It was a less valuable grain, and perhaps was produced in greater abundance. This is not far from the proportion which the price of this grain usually bears to that of wheat, and here, as in the case of the wheat, the thing which would be indicated would be scarcity. This proclamation of "a measure of wheat for a penny"was heard either as addressed to the horseman, as a rule of action for him, or as addressed by the horseman as he went forth. If the former is the meaning, it would be an appropriate address to one who was going forth to collect tribute - with reference to the exact manner in which this tribute was to be collected, implying some sort of severity of exaction; or to one who should distribute wheat and barley out of the public granaries at an advanced price, indicating scarcity. Thus, it would mean that a severe and heavy tax - represented by the scales and the scarcity - or a tax so severe as to make grain dear, was referred to. If the latter is the meaning, then the idea is that there would be a scarcity, and that grain would be dealt out by the government at a high and oppressive price. The latter idea would be as consonant with the symbol of the scales and the price mentioned as the other, if it were not for the additional injunction not to "hurt the oil and the wine"- which cannot be well applied to the idea of dealing out grain at a high price. It can, however, be connected, by a fair interpretation of that passage, with such a severity of taxation that there would be a propriety in such a command - for, as we shall see, under the explanation of that phrase, such a law was actually promulgated as resulting from severity of taxation. The idea, then, in the passage before us, would seem to be:

(a) that there would be a rigid administration of the law in regard to the matter under consideration-that pertaining to the productions of the earth - represented by the balances; and,

(b) that that would be connected with general scarcity, or such an exercise of this power as to determine the price of grain, so that the price would be some three times greater than ordinary.

And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine - There has been a great variety of interpretations proposed of this passage, and it is by no means easy to determine the true sense. The first inquiry in regard to it is, to whom is it addressed? Perhaps the most common impression on reading it would be, that it is addressed to the horseman with the balances, commanding him not to injure the oliveyards and the vineyards. But this is not probably the correct view. It does not appear that the horseman goes forth to destroy anything, or that the effect of his going forth is directly to injure anything. This, therefore, should not be understood as addressed to the horseman, but should be regarded as a general command to any and all not to injure the oliveyards and vineyards; that is, an order that nothing should be done essentially to injure them. If thus regarded as addressed to others, a fair and congruous meaning would be furnished by either of the following interpretations: either:

(a) considered as addressed to those who were disposed to be prodigal in their manner of living, or careless as to the destruction of the crop of the oil and wine, as they would now be needed; or.

(b) as addressed to those who raised such productions, on the supposition that they would be taxed heavily, or that large quantities of these productions would be extorted for revenue, that they. should not mutilate their fruit-trees in order to evade the taxes imposed by the government. In regard to the things specified here - oil and wine - it may be remarked, that they were hardly considered as articles of luxury in ancient times. They were almost as necessary articles as wheat and barley. They constituted a considerable part of the food and drink of the people, as well as furnished a large portion of the revenue, and it would seem to be with reference to that fact that the command here is given that they should not be injured; that is, that nothing should be done to diminish the quantity of oil and wine, or to impair the productive power of oliveyards and vineyards. The state of things thus described by this seal, as thus interpreted, would be:

(a)\caps1     a\caps0 rigid administration of the laws of the empire, particularly in reference to taxation, producing a scarcity among the necessary articles of living;

(b)\caps1     a\caps0 strong tendency, from the severity of the taxation, to mutilate such kinds of property, with a view either of concealing the real amount of property, or of diminishing the amount of taxes; and,

©\caps1     a\caps0 solemn command from some authoritative quarter not to do this.

A command from the ruling power not to do this would meet all that would be fairly demanded in the interpretation of the passage; and what is necessary in its application, is to find such a state of things as would correspond with these predictions; that is, such as a writer would have described by such symbols on the supposition that they were referred to.

Now it so happens that there were important events which occurred in the Roman empire, and connected with its decline and fall, of sufficient importance to be noticed in a series of calamitous events, which corresponded with the symbol here, as above explained. They were such as these:

(a) The general severity of taxation, or the oppressive burdens laid on the people by the emperors. In the account which Mr. Gibbon gives of the operation of the Indictions, and Superindictions, though the specific laws on this subject pertained to a subsequent period, the general nature of the taxation of the empire and its oppressive character may be seen (Decline and Fall, i. 357-359). A general estimate of the amount of revenue to be exacted was made out, and the collecting of this was committed to the pretorian prefects, and to a great number of subordinate officers. "The lands were measured by surveyors who were sent into the provinces; their nature, whether arable, or pasture, or woods, was distinctly reported; and an estimate made of their common value, from the average produce of five years. The number of slaves and of cattle constituted an essential part of the report; an oath was administered to the proprietors, which bound them to disclose the true state of their affairs; and their attempts to prevaricate or elude the intention of the legislature were severely watched, and punished as a capital crime, which included the double guilt of treason and of sacrilege. According to the different nature of lands, their real produce in the various articles of wine or oil, grain or barley, wood or iron, was transported by the labor or at the expense of the provincials to the imperial magazines, from whence they were occasionally distributed for the use of the court or of the army, and of the two capitals, Rome and Constantinople,"i. p. 358. Compare Lactant. de mort. Persecut., c. 23.

(b) The particular order, under this oppressive system of taxation, respecting the preservation of vineyards and oliveyards, may be referred to, also, as corresponding to the command sent forth under this rider, not to "hurt the oil and the wine."That order was in the following words: "If anyone shall sacrilegiously cut a vine, or stint the fruit of prolific boughs, and craftily feign poverty in order to avoid a fair assessment, he shall, immediately on detection, suffer death, and his property be confiscated"(Cod. Theod. l. xiii. lib. xi. seq.; Gibbon, i. 358, note). Mr. Gibbon remarks: "Although this law is not without its studied obscurity, it is, however, clear enough to prove the minuteness of the inquisition, and the disproportion of the penalty."

© Under this general subject of the severity of taxation - as a fact farspreading and oppressive, and as so important as to hasten the downfall of the empire, may be noticed a distinct edict of Caracalla as occurring more directly in the period in which the rider with the balances may be supposed to have gone forth. This is stated by Mr. Gibbon (i. 91) as one of the important causes which contributed to the downfall of the empire. "The personal characters of the emperors, their victories, laws, and fortunes,"says he, "can interest us no further than they are connected with the general history of the decline and fall of the monarchy. Our constant attention to that object will not suffer us to overlook a most important edict of Antoninus Caracalla, which communicated to all the free inhabitants of the empire the name and privileges of Roman citizens. His unbounded liberality, however, flowed not from the sentiments of a generous mind; it was the sordid result of avarice,"etc.

He then proceeds at length to state the nature and operations of that law, by which a heavy tax, under the pretence of liberality, was in fact imposed on all the citizens of the empire - a fact which, in its ultimate results, the historian of the Decline and Fall regards as so closely connected with the termination of the empire. See Gibbon, i. pp. 91-95. After noticing the laws of Augustus, Nero, and the Antonines, and the real privileges conferred by them on those who became entitled to the rank of Roman citizens - privileges which were a compensation in the honor, dignity, and offices of that rank for the measure of taxation which it involved - he proceeds to notice the fact that the title of "Roman citizen"was conferred by Caracalla on all the free citizens of the empire, involving the subjection to all the heavy taxes usually imposed on those who sustained the rank expressed by the title, but with nothing of the compensation connected with the title when it was confined to the inhabitants of Italy. "But the favor,"says he, "which implied a distinction, was lost in the prodigality of Caracalla, and the reluctant provincials were compelled to assume the vain title, and the real obligations, of Roman citizens. Nor was the rapacious son of Severus (Caracalla) contented with such a measure of taxation as had appeared sufficient to his moderate predecessors. Instead of a twentieth, he exacted a tenth of all legacies and inheritances; and during his reign he crushed alike every part of the empire under the weight of his iron scepter,"(i. 95).

So again (Ibid.), speaking of the taxes which had been lightened somewhat by Alexander, Mr. Gibbon remarks: "It is impossible to conjecture the motive that engaged him to spare so trifling a remnant of the evil; but the noxious weed, which had not been totally eradicated, again sprung up with the most luxuriant growth, and in the succeeding age darkened the Roman world with its deadly shade. In the course of this history we shall be too often summoned to explain the land-tax, the capitation, and the heavy contributions of grain, wine, oil, and meat, which were exacted from the provinces for the use of the court, the army, and the capital."In reference to this whole matter of taxation as being one of the things which contributed to the downfall of the empire, and which spread woe through the falling empire - a woe worthy to be illustrated by one of the seals - a confirmation may be delayed from the reign of Galerius, who, as Caesar, acted under the authority of Diocletian; who excited Diocletian to the work of persecution (Decline and Fall, i. 317, 318); and who, on the abdication of Diocletian, assumed the title of Augustus (Decline and Fall, i. 222).

Of his administration in general Mr. Gibbon i. 226) remarks: "About that time the avarice of Galerius, or perhaps the exigencies of the state, had induced him to make a very strict and rigorous inquisition into the property of his subjects for the purpose of a general taxation, both on their lands and on their persons. A very minute survey appears to have been taken of their real estates; and wherever there was the slightest suspicion of concealment, torture was very freely employed to obtain a sincere declaration of their personal wealth."Of the nature of this exaction under Galerius; of the cruelty with which the measure was prosecuted - particularly in its bearing on Christians, toward whom Galerius cherished a mortal enmity (Decline and Fall, i. 317); and of the extent and severity of the suffering among Christians and others, caused by it - the following account of Lactantius (De Mort. Persecut., c. 23) will furnish a painful but most appropriate illustration: "Swarms of exacters sent into the provinces and cities filled them with agitation and terror, as though a conquering enemy were leading them into captivity. The fields were separately measured, the trees and vines, the flocks and herds numbered, and an examination made of the people. In the cities the cultivated and rude were united as of the same rank. The streets were crowded with groups of families, and every one required to appear with his children and slaves. Tortures and lashes resounded on every side. Sons were gibbeted in the presence of their parents, and the most confidential servants harassed that they might make disclosures against their masters, and wives that they might testify unfavorably of their husbands. If there were a total destitution of property, they were still tortured to make acknowledgments against themselves, and, when overcome by pain, inscribed for what they did not possess.

Neither age nor ill-health was admitted as an excuse for not appearing. The sick and weak were borne to the place of inscription, a reckoning made of the age of each, and years added to the young and deducted from the old, in order to subject them to a higher taxation than the law imposed. The whole scene was filled with wailing and sadness. In the meantime individuals died, and the herds and the flocks diminished, yet tribute was none the less required to be paid for the dead, so that it was no longer allowed either to live or die without a tax. Mendicants alone escaped, where nothing could be wrenched, and whom misfortune and misery had made incapable of further oppression. These the impious wretch affecting to pity, that they might not suffer want, ordered to be assembled, borne off in vessels, and plunged into the sea."See Lord on the Apoc., pp. 128, 129. These facts in regard to the severity of taxation, and the rigid nature of the law enforcing it; to the sources of the revenue exacted in the provinces, and to the care that none of those sources should be diminished; and to the actual and undoubted bearing of all this on the decline and fall of the empire, are so strikingly applicable to the symbol here employed, that if it be supposed that it was intended to refer to them, no more natural or expressive symbol could have been used; if it were supposed that the historian meant to make a record of the fulfillment, he could not well have made a search which would more strikingly accord with the symbol.

Were we now to represent these things by a symbol, we could scarcely find one that would be more expressive than that of a rider on a black horse with a pair of scales, sent forth under a proclamation which indicated that there would be a most rigid and exact administration of severe and oppressive laws, and with a special command, addressed to the people, not for the purposes of concealment, or from opposition to the government, to injure the sources of revenue. It may serve further to illustrate this, to copy one of the usual emblems of a Roman procurator or questor. It is taken from Spanheim, De Usu Num. Diss. , vi. 545. See Elliott, i. 169. It has a balance as a symbol of exactness or justice, and an car of grain as a symbol employed with reference to procuring or exacting grain from the provinces.

Barnes: Rev 6:7

And when he had opened the fourth seal - See the notes at Rev 5:1.

I heard the voice of the fourth beast say - The flying eagle. See the notes at Rev 15:7. As in the other cases, there does not appear to have been any particular reason why the fourth of the living creatures should have made this proclamation rather than either of the others. It was poetic and appropriate to represent each one in his turn as making proclamation.

Come and see - See the notes at Rev 6:1.

Barnes: Rev 6:8

And I looked, and behold a pale horse - - ἵππος χλωρὸς hippos chlōros . On the horse, as an emblem, see the notes on Rev 6:2. The uniqueness of this emblem consists in the color of the horse, the rider, and the power that was given unto him. In these there is entire harmony, and there can be comparatively little difficulty in the explanation and application. The color of the horse was "pale"- χλωρὸς chlōros This word properly means "pale-green, yellowish-green,"like the color of the first shoots of grass and herbage; then green, verdant, like young herbage, Mar 6:39; Rev 8:7; Rev 9:4; and then pale yellowish (Robinson, Lexicon). The color here would be an appropriate one to denote the reign of death - as one of the most striking effects of death is paleness - and, of course, of death produced by any cause, famine, pestilence, or the sword. From this portion of the symbol, if it stood with nothing to limit and define it, we should naturally look for some condition of things in which death would prevail in a remarkable manner, or in which multitudes of human beings would be swept away. And yet, perhaps, from the very nature of this part of the symbol, we should look for the prevalence of death in some such peaceful manner as by famine or disease. The red color would more naturally denote the ravages of death in war; the black, the ravages of death by sudden calamity; the pale would more obviously suggest famine or wasting disease.

And his name that sat on him was Death - No description is given of his aspect; nor does he appear with any emblem - as sword, or spear, or bow. There is evident scope for the fancy to picture to itself the form of the destroyer; and there is just that kind of obscurity about it which contributes to sublimity. Accordingly, there has been ample room for the exercise of the imagination in the attempts to paint "Death on the pale horse,"and the opening of this seal has furnished occasion for some of the greatest triumphs of the pencil The simple idea in this portion of the symbol is, that death would reign or prevail under the opening of this seal - whether by sword, by famine, or by pestilence, is to be determined by other descriptions in the symbol.

And Hell followed with him - Attended him as he went forth. On the meaning of the word rendered here as "hell"- ᾍδης Hadēs , Hades - see the Luk 16:23 note, compare the Job 10:21-22 notes; Isa 14:9 note. It is used here to denote the abode of the dead, considered as a place where they dwell, and not in the more restricted sense in which the word is now commonly used as a place of punishment. The idea is, that the dead would be so numerous at the going forth of this horseman, that it would seem as if the pale nations of the dead had come again upon the earth. A vast retinue of the dead would accompany him; that is, it would be a time when death would prevail on the earth, or when multitudes would die.

And power was given unto them - Margin, to him. The common Greek text is αὐτοὶς autois - "to them."There are many mss., however, which read αὐτῷ autō - "to him."So Prof. Stuart reads it. The authority, however, is in favor of them as the reading; and according to this, death and his train are regarded as grouped together, and the power is considered as given to them collectively. The sense is not materially varied.

Over the fourth part of the earth - That is, of the Roman world. It is not absolutely necessary to understand this as extending over precisely a fourth part of the world. Compare Rev 8:7-10, Rev 8:12; Rev 9:15, et al. Undoubtedly we are to look in the fulfillment of this to some far-spread calamity; to some severe visitations which would sweep off great multitudes of people. The nature of that visitation is designated in the following specifications.

To kill with sword - In war and discord - and we are, therefore, to look to a period of wax.

And with hunger - With famine - one of the accompaniments of war - where armies ravage a nation, trampling down the crops of grain; consuming the provisions laid up; employing in war, or cutting off, the people who would be occupied in cultivating the ground; making it necessary that they should take the field at a time when the grain should be sown or the harvest collected; and shutting up the people in besieged cities to perish by hunger. Famine has been not an infrequent accompaniment of war; and we are to look for the fulfillment of this in its extensive prevalence.

And with death - Each of the other forms - "with the sword and with hunger"- imply that death would reign; for it is said that "power was given to kill with sword and with hunger."This word, then, must refer to death in some other form - to death that seemed to reign without any such visible cause as the "sword"and "hunger."This would well denote the pestilence - not an infrequent accompaniment of war. For nothing is better suited to produce this than the unburied bodies of the slain; the filth of a camp; the want of food; and the crowding together of multitudes in a besieged city; and, accordingly, the pestilence, especially in Oriental countries, has been often closely connected with war. That the pestilence is referred to here is rendered more certain by the fact that the Hebrew word דבר deber , "pestilence,"which occurs about fifty times in the Old Testament, is rendered θάνατος thanatos , "death,"more than thirty times in the Septuagint.

And with the beasts of the earth - With wild beasts. This, too, would be one of the consequences of war, famine, and pestilence. Lands would be depopulated, and wild beasts would be multiplied. Nothing more is necessary to make them formidable than a prevalence of these things; and nothing, in the early stages of society, or in countries ravaged by war, famine, and the pestilence, is more formidable. Homer, at the very beginning of his Iliad, presents us with a representation similar to this. Compare Eze 14:21; "I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence," דבר deber - Septuagint, as here, θάνατον thanaton . See also 2Ki 17:26.

In regard to the fulfillment of this there can be little difficulty, if the principles adopted in the interpretation of the first three seals are correct. We may turn to Gibbon, and, as in the other cases, we shall find that he has been an unconscious witness of the fidelity of the representation in this seal. Two general remarks may be made before there is an attempt to illustrate the particular things in the symbol:

(a) The first relates to the place in the order of time, or in history, which this seal occupies. If the three former seals have been located with any degree of accuracy, we should expect that this would follow, not very remotely, the severe laws pertaining to taxation, which, according to Mr. Gibbon, contributed so essentially to the downfall of the empire. And if it be admitted to be probable that the fifth seal refers to a time of persecution, it would be most natural to fix this period between those times and the times of Diocletian, when the persecution ceased. I may be permitted to say, that I was led to fix on this period without having any definite view beforehand of what occurred in it, and was surprised to find in Mr. Gibbon what seems to be so accurate a correspondence with the symbol.

(b) The second remark is, that the general characteristics of this period, as stated by Mr. Gibbon, agree remarkably with what we should expect of the period from the symbol. Thus, speaking of this whole period (248-268 a.d.), embracing the reigns of Decius, Gallus, Aemilianus, Valerian, and Gallienus, he says, "From the great secular games celebrated by Philip to the death of the emperor Gallienus, there elapsed twenty years of shame and misfortune. During this calamitous period every instant of time was marked, every province of the Roman world was afflicted by barbarous invaders and military tyrants, and the ruined empire seemed to approach the last and fatal moment of its dissolution,"i. 135.

In regard to the particular things referred to in the symbol, the following specifications may furnish a sufficient confirmation and illustration:

(a) The killing with the sword. A fulfillment of this, so far as the words are concerned, might be found indeed in many portions of Roman history, but no one can doubt that it was eminently true of this period. It was the period of the first Gothic invasion of the Roman empire; the period when those vast hordes, having gradually come down from the regions of Scandinavia, and having moved along the Danube toward the Ukraine and the countries bordering on the Borysthenes, invaded the Roman territories from the East, passed over Greece, and made their appearance almost, as Mr. Gibbon says, within sight of Rome. Of this invasion Mr. Gibbon says, "This is the first considerable occasion (the fact that the emperor Decius was summoned to the banks of the Danube, 250 a.d., by the invasion of the Goths) in which history mentions that great people, who afterward broke the Roman power, sacked the Capitol, and reigned in Gaul, Spain, and Italy. So memorable was the part which they acted in the subversion of the Western empire, that the name of Goths is frequently, but improperly, used as a general appellation of rude and warlike barbarism,"i. p. 136.

As one of the illustrations that the "sword"would be used by "Death"in this period, we may refer to the siege and capture of Philippolis. "A hundred thousand persons are reported to have been massacred in the sack of that great city"(Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, i. 140). "The whole period,"says Mr. Gibbon, speaking of the reigns of Valerian and Gallienus, "was one uninterrupted series of confusion and calamity. The Roman empire was, at the same time, and on every side, attacked by the blind fury of foreign invaders, and the wild ambition of domestic usurpers,"i. 144. "Such were the barbarians,"says Mr. Gibbon in the close of his description of the Goths at this period, and of the tyrants that reigned, "and such the tyrants, who, under the reigns of Valerian and Gallienus, dismembered the provinces, and reduced the empire to the lowest pitch of disgrace and ruin, from whence it seemed impossible that it should ever emerge,"i. 158.

(b) Famine: "Shall kill with hunger."This would naturally be the consequence of long-continued wars, and of such invasions as those of the Goths. Mr. Gibbon says of this period: "Our habits of thinking so fondly connect the order of the universe with the fate of man, that this gloomy period of history has been decorated with inundations, earthquakes, uncommon meteors, preternatural darkness, and a crowd of prodigies, fictitious or exaggerated. But a long and general famine was a calamity of a more serious kind. It was the inevitable consequence of rapine and oppression, which extirpated the produce of the present, and the hope of future harvests,"i. p. 159. Prodigies, and preternatural darkness, and earthquakes, were not seen in the vision of the opening of the seal - but war and famine were; and the facts stated by Mr. Gibbon are such as would be now appropriately symbolized by Death on the pale horse.

© Pestilence: "And shall kill with death."Of the pestilence which raged in this period Mr. Gibbon makes the following remarkable statement, in immediate connection with what he says of the famine: "Famine is almost always followed by epidemical diseases, the effect of scanty and unwholesome food. Other causes must, however, have contributed to the furious plague, which, from the year 250 to the year 265, raged without interruption in every province, every city, and almost every family of the Roman empire. During some time five thousand persons died daily at Rome; and many towns that had escaped the hands of the barbarians were entirely depopulated,"i. 159.

(d) Wild beasts: "And shall kill with the beasts of the earth."As already remarked, these are formidable enemies in the early stages of society, and when a country becomes, from any cause, depopulated. They are not mentioned by Mr. Gibbon as contributing to the decline and fall of the empire, or as connected with the calamities that came upon the world at that period. But no one can doubt that in such circumstances they would be likely to abound, especially if the estimate of Mr. Gibbon be correct (i. 159), when speaking of these times, and making an estimate of the proportion of the inhabitants of Alexandria that had perished - which he says was more than one-half - he adds, "Could we venture to extend the analogy to the other provinces, we might suspect that war, pestilence, and famine had consumed in a few years the moiety of the human species."Yet, though not adverted to by Mr. Gibbon, there is a record pertaining to this very period, which shows that this was one of the calamities with which the world was then afflicted.

It occurs in Arnobius, Adv. Gentes, lib. i. p. 5. Within a few years after the death of Gallienus (about 300 a.d.) he speaks of wild beasts in such a manner as to show that they were regarded as a sore calamity. The public peril and suffering on this account were so great, that in common with other evils this was charged on Christians as one of the judgments of heaven which they brought upon the world. In defending Christians against the general charge that these judgments were sent from heaven on their account, he adverts to the prevalence of wild beasts, and shows that they could not have been sent as a judgment on account of the existence of Christianity, by the fact that they had prevailed also in the times of paganism, long before Christianity was introduced into the empire. "Quando cum feris bella, et proelia cum leonibus gesta sunt? Non ante nos? Quando pernicies populis venenatis ab anguibus data est? Non ante nos?""When were wars waged with wild beasts, and contests with lions? Was it not before our times? When did a plague come upon people poisoned by serpents? Was it not before our times?"

In regard to the extent of the destruction which these causes would bring upon the world, there is a remarkable confirmation in Gibbon. To say, as is said in the account of the seal, that "a fourth part of the earth"would be subjected to the reign of death by the sword, by famine, by pestilence, and by wild beasts, may seem to many to be an improbable statement - a statement for the fulfillment of which we should look in vain to any historical records. Yet Mr. Gibbon, without expressly mentioning the plague of wild beasts, but referring to the three others - "war, pestilence, and famine"- goes into a calculation, in a passage already referred to, by which he shows that it is probable that from these causes half the human race was destroyed. The following is his estimate: "We have the knowledge of a very curious circumstance, of some use perhaps in the melancholy calculation of human calamities. An exact register was kept at Alexandria of all the citizens entitled to receive the distribution of grain. It was found that the ancient number of those comprised between the ages of forty and seventy had been equal to the whole sum of claimants, from fourteen to fourscore years of age, who remained alive after the reign of Gallienus. Applying this authentic fact to the most correct tables of mortality, it evidently proves that above half the people of Alexandria had perished; and could we venture to extend the analogy to the other provinces, we might suspect that war, pestilence, and famine had consumed in a few years the moiety of the human species,"i. 159. The historian says that it might be "suspected"from these data that one-half of the human race had been cut off in a few years, from these causes; in the Apocalyptic vision it is said that power was given over one "fourth"of the earth. We may remark:

(a) that the description in the symbol is as likely to be correct as the "suspicion"of the historian; and,

(b) that his statement that in this period "a moiety of the race,"or one-half of the race, perished, takes away all improbability from the prediction, and gives a most graphic confirmation of the symbol of Death on the pale horse. If such a desolation in fact occurred, there is no improbability in the supposition that it might have been prefigured by the opening of a prophetic seal. Such a widespread desolation would be likely to be referred to in a series of symbols that were designed to represent the downfall of the Roman power, and the great changes in human affairs that would affect the welfare of the church.

Barnes: Rev 6:9-11

And when he had opened the fifth seal - notes at Rev 5:1; Rev 6:1.

I saw under the altar - The four living creatures are no longer heard as in the opening of the first four seals. No reason is given for the change in the manner of the representation; and none can be assigned, unless it be, that having represented each one of the four living creatures in their turn as calling attention to the remarkable events about to occur, there seemed to be no necessity or propriety in introducing them again. In itself considered, it cannot be supposed that they would be any less interested in the events about to be disclosed than they were in those which preceded. This seal pertains to martyrs - at the former successively did to a time of prosperity and triumph; to discord and bloodshed; to oppressive taxation; to war, famine, and pestilence. In the series of woes, it was natural and proper that there should be a vision of martyrs, if it was intended that the successive seals should refer to coming and important periods of the world; and accordingly we have here a striking representation of the martyrs crying to God to interpose in their behalf and to avenge their blood. The points which require elucidation are:

(a)\caps1     t\caps0 heir position - under the altar;

(b)\caps1     t\caps0 heir invocation - or their prayer that they might be avenged;

©\caps1     t\caps0 he clothing of them with robes; and,

(d)\caps1     t\caps0 he command to wait patiently a little time.

\caps1 (1) t\caps0 he position of the martyrs - "under the altar."There were in the temple at Jerusalem two altars - the altar of burnt sacrifices, and the altar of incense. The altar here referred to was probably the former. This stood in front of the temple, and it was on this that the daily sacrifice was made. Compare the notes on Mat 5:23-24. We are to remember, however, that the temple and the altar were both destroyed before the time when this book was written, and this should, therefore, be regarded merely as a vision. John saw these souls as if they were collected under the altar - the place where the sacrifice for sin was made - offering their supplications. Why they are represented as being there is not so apparent; but probably two suggestions will explain this:

(a)    The altar was the place where sin was expiated, and it was natural to represent these redeemed martyrs as seeking refuge there; and

(b)\caps1     i\caps0 t was usual to offer prayers and supplications at the altar, in connection with the sacrifice made for sin, and on the ground of that sacrifice.

The idea is, that they who were suffering persecution would naturally seek a refuge in the place where expiation was made for sin, and where prayer was appropriately offered. The language here is such as a Hebrew would naturally use; the idea is appropriate to anyone who believes in the atonement, and who supposes that that is the appropriate refuge for those who are in trouble. But while the language here is such as a Hebrew would use, and while the reference in the language is to the altar of Burnt sacrifice, the scene should be regarded as undoubtedly laid in heaven - the temple where God resides. The whole representation is that of fleeing to the atonement, and pleading with God in connection with the sacrifice for sin.

The souls of them that were slain - That had been put to death by persecution. This is one of the incidental proofs in the Bible that the soul does not cease to exist at death, and also that it does not cease to be conscious, or does not sleep until the resurrection. These souls of the martyrs are represented as still in existence; as remembering what had occurred on the earth; as interested in what was now taking place; as engaged in prayer; and as manifesting earnest desires for the divine interposition to avenge the wrongs which they had suffered.

For the word of God - On account of the word or truth of God. See the notes on Rev 1:9.

And for the testimony which they held - On account of their testimony to the truth, or being faithful witnesses of the truth of Jesus Christ. See the notes on Rev 1:9.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he invocation of the martyrs, Rev 6:10; And they cried with a loud voice. That is, they pleaded that their blood might be avenged.

Saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true - They did not doubt that God would avenge them, but they inquired how long the vengeance would be delayed. It seemed to them that God was slow to interpose, and to check the persecuting power. They appeal therefore to him as a God of holiness and truth; that is, as one who could not look with approval on sin, and in whose sight the wrongs inflicted by the persecuting power must be infinitely offensive; as one who was true to his promises, and faithful to his people. On the ground of his own hatred of wrong, and of his plighted faithfulness to his church, they pleaded that he would interpose.

Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood - That is, dost thou forbear to judge and avenge us; or dost thou delay to punish those who have persecuted and slain us. They do not speak as if they had any doubt that it would be done, nor as if they were actuated by a spirit of revenge; but as if it would be proper that there should be an expression of the divine sense of the wrongs that had been done them. It is not right to desire vengeance or revenge; it is to desire that justice should be done, and that the government of God should be vindicated. The word "judge"here may either mean "judge us,"in the sense of "vindicate us,"or it may refer to their persecutors, meaning "judge them."The more probable sense is the latter: "How long dost thou forbear to execute judgment on our account on those that dwell on the earth?"The word "avenge"- ἐκδικεω ekdikeō - means to do justice; to execute punishment.

On them that dwell on the earth - Those who are still on the earth. This shows that the scene here is laid in heaven, and that the souls of the martyrs are represented as there. We are not to suppose that this literally occurred, and that John actually saw the souls of the martyrs beneath the altars - for the whole representation is symbolical; nor are we to suppose that the injured and the wronged in heaven actually pray for vengeance on those who wronged them, or that the redeemed in heaven will continue to pray with reference to things on the earth; but it may be fairly inferred from this that there will be as real a remembrance of the wrongs of the persecuted, the injured, and the oppressed, as if such prayer were offered there; and that the oppressor has as much to dread from the divine vengeance as if those whom he has injured should cry in heaven to the God who hears prayer, and who takes vengeance. The wrongs done to the children of God; to the orphan, the widow, the down-trodden; to the slave and the outcast, will be as certainly remembered in heaven as if they who are wronged should plead for vengeance there, for every act of injustice and oppression goes to heaven and pleads for vengeance. Every persecutor should dread the death of the persecuted as if he went to heaven to plead against him; every cruel master should dread the death of his slave that is crushed by wrongs; every seducer should dread the death and the cries of his victim; every one who does wrong in any way should remember that the sufferings of the injured cry to heaven with a martyr’ s pleadings, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?"

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he robes that were given to the martyrs: And white robes were given unto every one of them. Emblems of purity or innocence. See the notes on Rev 3:5. Here the robes would be an emblem of their innocence as martyrs; of the divine approval of their testimony and lives, and a pledge of their future blessedness.

\caps1 (4) t\caps0 he command to wait: And it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season. That is, that they must wait for a little season before they could be avenged as they desired, Rev 6:10. They had pleaded that their cause might be at once vindicated, and had asked how long it would be before it should be done. The reply is, that the desired vindication would not at once occur, but that they must wait until other events were accomplished. Nothing definite is determined by the phrase "a little season,"or a short time. It is simply an intimation that this would not immediately occur, or was not soon to take place. Whether it refers to an existing persecution, and to the fact that they were to wait for the divine interposition until that was over, and those who were then suffering persecution should be put to death and join them; or whether to a series of persecutions stretching along in the history of the world, in such a sense that the promised vengeance would take place only when all those persecutions were passed, and the number of the martyrs completed, cannot be determined from the meaning of their words. Either of these suppositions would accord well with what the language naturally expresses.

Until their fellow-servants also - Those who were then suffering persecution, or those who should afterward suffer persecution, grouping all together.

And their brethren - Their brethren as Christians, and their brethren in trial: those then living, or those who would live afterward and pass through similar scenes.

Should be fulfilled - That is, until these persecutions were passed through, and the number of the martyrs was complete. The state of things represented here would seem to be, that there was then a persecution raging on the earth. Many had been put to death, and their souls had fled to heaven, where they pleaded that their cause might be vindicated, and that their oppressors and persecutors might be punished. To this the answer was, that they were now safe and happy - that God approved their course, and that in token of his approbation they should be clothed in white raiment; but that the invoked vindication could not at once occur. There were others who would yet be called to suffer as they had done, and they must wait until all that number was completed. Then, it is implied, God would interpose, and vindicate his name. The scene, therefore, is laid in a time of persecution, when many had already died, and when there were many more that were exposed to death; and a sufficient fulfillment of the passage, so far as the words are concerned, would be found in any persecution, where many might be represented as having already gone to heaven, and where there was a certainty that many more would follow.

We naturally, however, look for the fulfillment of it in some period succeeding those designated by the preceding symbols. There would be no difficulty, in the early history of the church, in finding events that would correspond with all that is represented by the symbol; but it is natural to look for it in a period succeeding that represented, under the fourth seal, by Death on the pale horse. If the previous seals have been correctly interpreted we shall not be much in danger of erring in supposing that this refers to the persecution under Diocletian; and perhaps we may find in one who never intended to write a word that could be construed as furnishing a proof of the fulfillment of the prophecies of the New Testament, what should be regarded as a complete verification of all that is represented here. The following particulars may justify this application:

(a) The place of that persecution in history, or the time when it occurred. As already remarked, if the previous seals have been rightly explained, and the fourth seal denotes the wars, the famine, and the pestilence, under the invasion of the Goths, and in the time of Valerian and Gallienus, then the last great persecution of the church under Diocletian would well accord with the period in history referred to. Valerian died in 260 a.d., being flayed alive by Sapor, king of Persia; Gallienus died in 268 a.d., being killed at Milan. Diocletian ascended the throne 284 a.d., and resigned the purple 304 a.d. It was during this period, and chiefly at the instigation of Galerius, that the tenth persecution of the Christians occurred - the last under the Roman power; for in 306 a.d. Constantine ascended the throne, and ultimately be, came the protector of the church.

(b) The magnitude of this persecution under Diocletian is as consonant to the representation here as its place in history. So important was it, that, in a general chapter on the persecutions of the Christians, Mr. Gibbon has seen fit, in his remarks on the nature, causes, extent, and character of the persecutions, to give a prominence to this which he has not assigned to any others, and to attach an importance to it which he has not to any other. See vol. i. pp. 317-322. The design of this persecution, as Mr. Gibbon expresses it (i. 318), was "to set bounds to the progress of Christianity"; or, as he elsewhere expresses it (on the same page), "the destruction of Christianity."Diocletian, himself naturally averse from persecution, was excited to this by Galerius, who urged upon the emperor every argument by which he could persuade him to engage in it. Mr. Gibbon says in regard to this, "Galerius at length extorted from him (Diocletian) the permission of summoning a council, composed of a few persons, the most distinguished in the civil and military departments of the state. It may be presumed that they insisted on every topic which might interest the pride, the piety, the fears of their sovereign in the destruction of Christianity,"1:318.

The purpose evidently in the persecution, was, to make a last and desperate effort, through the whole Roman empire, for the destruction of the Christian religion; for Mr. Gibbon (i. 320) says that "the edict against the Christians was designed for a general law of the whole empire."Other efforts had failed. The religion still spread, notwithstanding the rage and fury of nine previous persecutions. It was resolved to make one more effort. This was designed by the persecutors to be the last, in the hope that then the Christian name would cease to be: in the providence of God it was the last - for then even these opposing powers became convinced that the religion could not be destroyed in this manner - and as this persecution was to establish this fact, it was an event of sufficient magnitude to be symbolized by the opening of one of the seals.

© The severity of this persecution accorded with the description here, and was such as to deserve a place in the series of important events which were to occur in the world. We have seen above, from the statement of Mr. Gibbon, that it was designed for the "whole empire,"and it in fact raged with fury throughout the empire. After detailing some of the events of local persecutions under Diocletian, Mr. Gibbon says, "The resentment or the fears of Diocletian at length transported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which he had hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of edicts, his intention of abolishing the Christian name. By the first of these edicts the governors of the provinces were directed to apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the prisons destined for the vilest criminals were soon filled with a multitude of bishops, presbyters, deacons, and exorcists. By a second edict the magistrates were commanded to employ every method of severity which might reclaim them from their odious superstition, and oblige them to return to the established worship of the gods. This rigorous order was extended, by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Christians, who were exposed to a violent and general persecution.

Instead of those salutary restraints which had required the direct and solemn testimony of an accuser, it became the duty as well as the interest of the imperial officers to discover, to pursue, and to torment the most obnoxious among the faithful. Heavy penalties were denounced against all who should presume to save a proscribed sectary from the just indignation of the gods, and of the emperors,"i. 322. The first decree against the Christians, at the instigation of Galerius, will show the general nature of this fiery trial of the church. That decree was to the following effect: "All assembling of the Christians for the purposes of religious worship was forbidden; the Christian churches were to be demolished to their foundations; all manuscripts of the Bible should be burned; those who held places of honor or rank must either renounce their faith or be degraded; in judicial proceedings the torture might be used against all Christians, of whatever rank; those belonging to the lower walks of private life were to be divested of their rights as citizens and as freemen; Christian slaves were to be incapable of receiving their freedom, so long as they remained Christians"(Neander, Hist. of the Church, Torrey’ s Trans. i. 148).

This persecution was the last against the Christians by the Roman emperors; the last that was waged by that mighty pagan power. Diocletian soon resigned the purple, and after the persecution had continued to rage, with more or less severity, under his successors, for ten years, the peace of the church was established. "Diocletian,"says Mr. Gibbon (i. 322), "had no sooner published his edicts against the Christians, than, as if he had been committing to other hands his work of persecution, he divested himself of the imperial purple. The character and situation of his colleagues and successors sometimes urged them to enforce, and sometimes to suspend, the execution of these rigorous laws; nor can we acquire a just and distinct idea of this important period of ecclesiastical history, unless we separately consider the state of Christianity in the different parts of the empire, during the space of ten years which elapsed between the first edicts of Diocletian and the final peace of the church."

For this detail consult Gibbon, i. 322-329, and the authorities there referred to; and Neander, History of the Church , i. 147-156. Respecting the details of the persecution, Mr. Gibbon remarks (i. 326), "It would have been an easy task, from the history of Eusebius, from the declamations of Lactantius, and from the most ancient acts, to collect a long series of horrid and disgustful pictures, and to fill many pages with racks and scourges, with iron-hooks, and red-hot beds, and with the variety of tortures which fire and steel, savage beasts, and more savage executioners, could inflict on the human body."It is true that Mr. Gibbon professes to doubt the truth of these records, and attempts to show that the account of the number of the martyrs has been greatly exaggerated; yet no one, in reading his own account of this persecution, can doubt that it was the result of a determined effort to blot out the Christian religion, and that the whole of the imperial power was exerted to accomplish this end.

At length the last of the imperial persecutions ceased, and the great truth was demonstrated that Christianity could not be extinguished by power, and that "the gates of hell could not prevail against it.""In the year 311,"says Neander (i. 156), "the remarkable edict appeared which put an end to the last sanguinary conflict of the Christian church and the Roman empire."This decree was issued by the author and instigator of the persecution, Galerius, who, "softened by a severe and painful disease, the consequence of his excesses, had been led to think that the God of the Christians might, after all, be a powerful being, whose anger punished him, and whose favor he must endeavor to conciliate."This man suspended the persecution, and gave the Christians permission "once more to hold their assemblies, provided they did nothing contrary to the good order of the Roman state.""Ita ut ne quid contra disciplinam agant"(Neander, ibid.).

Barnes: Rev 6:12-17

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal - See the notes at Rev 5:1; Rev 6:1.

And, lo, there was a great earthquake - Before endeavoring to ascertain to what the sixth seal was designed to refer, it is proper, as in the previous cases, to furnish a particular explanation of the meaning of the symbols. All the symbols represented in the opening of this seal denote consternation, commotion, changes; but still they are all significant, and we are to suppose that something would occur corresponding with each one of them. It cannot be supposed that the things here described were represented on the part of the roll or volume that was now unfolded in any other way than that they were pictures, or that the whole was a species of panoramic representation made to pass before the eyes. Thus understood, it would not be difficult to represent each one of these things in a painting: as the heaving ground - the agitated forests - the trembling hills - the falling cities and houses - the sun blackened, and the moon turned to blood:

(a) The earthquake, Rev 6:12; "There was a great earthquake."The word used here denotes a shaking or agitation of the earth. The effect, when violent, is to produce important changes - opening chasms in the earth; throwing down houses and temples; sinking hills, and elevating plains; causing ponds and lakes to dry up, or forming them where none existed; elevating the ocean from its bed, rending rocks, etc. As all that occurs in the opening of the other seals is symbolical, it is to be presumed that this is also, and that for the fulfillment of this we are not to look for a literal earthquake, but for such agitations and changes in the world as would be properly symbolized by this. The earthquake, as a symbol, would merely denote great agitations or overturnings on the earth. The particular character of those changes must be determined by other circumstances in the symbol that would limit and explain it.

There are, it is said, but three literal earthquakes referred to in the Scripture: that mentioned in 1Ki 19:11; that in Uzziah’ s time, Amo 1:1; Zec 14:5; and what took place at the Saviour’ s death. All the rest are emblematical or symbolical-referring mostly to civil commotions and changes. Then in Hag 2:6-7; "Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts."That is, there would be great agitations in the world before he came. See the notes on Heb 12:26-28. So also great changes and commotions are referred to in Isa 24:19-20; "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage."An earthquake, if there were no other circumstances limiting and explaining the symbol, would merely denote great agitation and commotion - as if states and empires were tumbling to ruin. As this is here a mere symbol, it is not necessary to look for a literal fulfillment, or to expect to find in history actual earthquakes to which this had reference, anymore than when it is said that "the heavens departed as a scroll"we are to expect that they will be literally rolled up; but if, in the course of history, earthquakes preceded remarkable political convulsions and revolutions, it would be proper to represent such events in this way.

(b) The darkening of the sun: "And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair."Sackcloth was a coarse black cloth, commonly, though not always, made of hair. It was used for sacks, for strainers, and for mourning garments; and as thus worn it was not an improper emblem of sadness and distress. The idea here is, that the sun put on a dark, dingy, doleful appearance, as if it were in mourning. The general image, then, in this emblem, is that of calamity - as if the very sun should put on the robes of mourning. We are by no means to suppose that this was literally to occur, but that some great calamity would happen, of which this would be an appropriate emblem. See the Isa 13:10 note; Mat 24:29 note; Compare Isa 24:23; Isa 34:4; 1, 3; Isa 60:19-20; Eze 32:7-8; Joe 2:10; Joe 3:15-16; Amo 8:9. What is the particular nature of the calamity is to be learned from other parts of the symbol.

© The discoloration of the moon: "And the moon became as blood."Red like blood - either from the smoke and vapor that usually precedes an earthquake, or as a mere emblem. This also would betoken calamity, and perhaps the symbol may be so far limited and modified by this as to denote war, for that would be most naturally suggested by the color - red. Compare the notes on Rev 6:4 of this chapter. But any great calamity would be appropriately represented by this - as the change of the moon to such a color would be a natural emblem of distress.

(d) The falling of the stars, Rev 6:13; "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth."This language is derived from the poetic idea that the sky seems to be a solid concave, in which the stars are set, and that when any convulsion takes place, that concave will be shaken, and the stars will be loosened and fall from their places. See this language explained in the notes on Isa 34:4. Sometimes the expanse above us is spoken of as a curtain that is spread out, and that may be rolled up; sometimes as a solid crystalline expanse in which the stars are fixed. According to either representation the stars are described as falling to the earth. If the expanse is rolled up, the stars, having nothing to support them, fall if violent tempests or concussions shake the heavens, the stars, loosened from their fixtures, fall to the earth. Stars, in the Scriptures, are symbols of princes and rulers (see Dan 8:10; Rev 8:10-11; Rev 9:1); and the natural meaning of this symbol is, that there would be commotions which would unsettle princes, and bring them down from their thrones - like stars falling from the sky.

Even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs - Mart., "green"; Greek, ὀλύνθους olunthous . This word properly denotes "winter-figs,"or such as grow under the leaves, and do not ripen at the proper season, but hang upon the trees during the winter (Robinson, Lexicon). This fruit seldom matures, and easily falls off in the spring of the year (Stuart, in loco). A violent wind shaking a plantation of fig-trees would of course cast many such figs to the ground. The point of the comparison is, the ease with which the stars would seem to be shaken from their places, and hence, the ease with which, in these commotions, princes would be dethroned.

(e) The departing of the heavens, Rev 6:14; "And the heaven departed as a scroll."That is, as a book or volume - βιβλίον biblion - rolled up. The heavens are here described as spread out, and their passing away is represented by the idea that they might be rolled up, and thus disappear. See the notes on Isa 34:4. This, too, is a symbol, and we are not to suppose that it will literally occur. Indeed it never can literally occur; and we are not, therefore, to look for the fulfillment of this in any physical fact that would correspond with what is here said. The plain meaning is, that there would be changes as if such an event would happen; that is, that revolutions would occur in the high places of the earth, and among those in power, as if the stars should fall, and the very heavens were swept away. This is the natural meaning of the symbol, and this accords with the usage of the language elsewhere.

(f) The removal of mountains and islands, Rev 6:14; "And every mountain and island were moved out of their places."This would denote convulsions in the political or moral world, as great as would occur in the physical world if the very mountains were removed and the islands should change their places. We are not to suppose that this would literally occur; but we should be authorized from this to expect that, in regard to those things which seemed to be permanent and fixed on an immov able basis, like mountains and islands, there would be violent and important changes. If thrones and dynasties long established were overthrown; if institutions that seemed to be fixed and per manent were abolished; if a new order of things should rise in the political world, the meaning of the symbol, so far as the language is concerned, would be fulfilled.

(g) The universal consternation, Rev 6:15-17; "And the kings of the earth, etc."The design of these verses Rev 6:15-17, in the varied language used, is evidently to denote universal consternation and alarm - as if the earth should be convulsed, and the stars should fall, and the heavens should pass away. This consternation would extend to all classes of people, and fill the world with alarm, as if the end of all things were coming.

The kings of the earth - Rulers - all who occupied thrones.

The great men - High officers of state.

And the rich men - Their wealth would not secure them from destruction, and they would be alarmed like others.

And the chief captains - The commanders of armies, who tremble like other men when God appears judgment.

And the mighty men - Men of great prowess in battle, but who feel now that they have no power to withstand God.

And every bondman - Servant - δοῦλος doulos . This word does not necessarily denote a slave (compare the Eph 6:5 note; 1Ti 6:1 note; Phm 1:16 note), but here the connection seems to demand it, for it stands in contrast with freeman. There were, in fact, slaves in the Roman empire, and there is no objection in supposing that they are here referred to. There is no reason why they should not be filled with consternation as well as others; and as this does not refer to the end of the world, or the day of judgment, the word here determines nothing as to the question whether slavery is to continue on the earth.

And every freeman - Whether the master of slaves or not. The idea is, that all classes of people, high and low, would be filled with alarm.

Hid themselves in the dens - Among the caves or caverns in the mountains. See the notes on Isa 2:19. These places were resorted to for safety in times of danger. Compare 1Sa 13:6; 24; Jdg 6:2; Jer 41:9; Josephus, Antiq. book 14, chapter 15; Jewish Wars , book 1, chapter 16.

And in the rocks of the mountains - Among the crags or the fastnesses of the mountains - also natural places of refuge in times of hostile invasion or danger. See the notes on Isa 2:21.

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, ... - Rev 6:16. This language is found substantially in Hos 10:8; "And they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us."It is also used by the Saviour as denoting the consternation which would occur at his coming: "Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us,"Luk 23:30. It is language denoting consternation, and an awful fear of impending wrath. The state of mind is that where there is an apprehension that God himself is coming forth with the direct instruments of his vengeance, and where there is a desire rather to be crushed by falling rocks and hills than by the vengeance of his uplifted arm.

From the face of him that sitteth on the throne - The face of God - for he seems to be coming forth with the displays of his vengeance. It is not said that God would actually come forth in a visible form, lint their consternation would be as great as if he were to do this; the state of mind indicated by this was an apprehension that it would be so.

And from the wrath of the Lamb - The Lamb of God; the Lord Jesus. See the notes on Rev 5:6. There seems to be an incongruity between the words "wrath,"and "Lamb"; but the word "Lamb"here is so far a proper name as to be used only to designate the Redeemer. He comes forth to execute wrath, not as a Lamb, but as the Son of God, who bore that name. It would seem from this that they who thus dreaded the impending terrors were aware of their source, or had knowledge enough to understand by whom they were to be inflicted. They would see that these were divine judgments, and would apprehend that the end of the world drew near.

For the great day of his wrath is come - Rev 6:17. The threatening judgments would be so severe and awful that they would suppose that the end of the world was coming.

And who shall be able to stand? - To stand before him, or to withstand his judgments.

It is unnecessary to say that there has been, in this case, as in reference to every other part of the Book of Revelation, a great diversity of opinion respecting the events symbolized by this seal. Grotius applied it to the wars between the Jews and Romans under Nero and Vespasian; Dr. Hammond supposed that the defeat of the Jewish leaders in those wars was particularly symbolized; Mr. Brightman referred these symbols to the persecution under Diocletian; Mr. Mede, Dr. Cressner, Dr. More, Mr. Whiston, Mr. Jurien, Mr. Daubuz, Mr. Lowman, Dr. Newton, Mr. Elliott, and others, refer it to the defeat of the pagan powers, and the final suppression of those powers as opposed to Christianity; Vitringa regarded it as foreshadowing the overthrow of the anti-Christian powers of the western Roman empire; Cocceius explains it of the wars of the Emperor Frederick against the German princes in the sixteenth century; Dr. Woodhouse, of the day of vengeance at the end of the world; Mr. Cunninghame, of the same period as the seventh trumpet, commencing with the French revolution, and to be consummated by the visible advent of the Son of God; Prof. Stuart, of the destruction of Jerusalem; and Mr. Lord, of a series of events, part of which are fulfilled, three of them corresponding with the first three vials - the first expressive of the revolution of France, the second of despotism extending through several rears, and the third of the overthrow of that violent dynasty, at the fall of Bonaparte, in 1815.

It is not my purpose to examine these views; but, amidst this great variety of opinion, it seems to me that the obvious and natural application of the opening of the seal has not been adverted to. I shall suggest it because it is the most natural and obvious, and seems to be demanded by the explanations given of the previous seals. It is, in one word, the impending judgments from the invasions of the northern hordes of Goths and Vandals, threatening the breaking up of the Roman empire - the gathering of the storm, and the hovering of those barbarians on the borders of the empire; the approaches which they made from time to time toward the capital, though restrained as yet from taking it; the tempest of wrath that was, as it were, suspended yet on the frontiers, until the events recorded in the next chapter should occur, then bursting forth in wrath in successive blasts, as denoted by the first four trumpets of the seventh seal Rev 8:1-13, when the empire was entirely overthrown by the Goths and Vandals. The precise point of time which I suppose this seal occupies is that succeeding the last persecution.

It embraces the preparatory arrangements of these hordes of invaders - their gathering on the frontiers of the empire - their threatened approaches toward the capital - and the formation of such vast armies as would produce universal consternation. A brief notice of these preparatory scenes, as adapted to produce the alarm referred to in the opening of the sixth seal, is all that will be necessary here; the more complete detail must be reserved for the explanation of the four trumpets of the seventh seal, when the work of destruction was consummated. These preparations and threatened invasions were events sufficiently important in their relation to the church, to what preceded, and to the future history of the world, to be symbolized here; and they are events in which all the particulars of the symbol may find a fulfillment. Anyone has only to took on a chart of history to see how appropriately this application of the symbol follows, if the previous explanations have been correct. In the illustration of this, in order to show the probability that these events are referred to by the symbols of the sixth seal, I would submit the following remarks:

(1) The time is what would be naturally suggested by this seal in its relation to the others. If the fifth referred to the persecutions under Diocletian - the last great persecution of the pagan powers in attempting to extinguish the Christian name - then we should naturally look for the fulfillment of the opening of the next in some event, or series of events, which would succeed that at no very distant interval, and that pertained to the empire or power that had been the prominent subject of the predictions in the previous seals. It would also be natural to look for some events that might be regarded as conveying an expression of the divine feeling in regard to that power, or that would present it in such an aspect that it would be seen that its power to persecute was at an end. This natural expectation would be answered either by some symbol that would refer to the complete triumph of the Christian system, or by such a series of judgments as would break the persecuting power itself in pieces. Now the threatened irruption of the northern barbarians followed the series of events already described with sufficient nearness to make it proper to regard that series of events as referred to.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he events were of sufficient importance in the history of the empire to deserve this notice in the foreshadowing of what would occur. They were connected with the breaking up of that mighty power, and the complete change of the aspect of the world, in a political and religious point of view. A new order of things arose in the world’ s history. A new religion became established. New kingdoms from the fragments of the once-mighty Roman empire were founded, and the affairs of the world were put on a new footing. These mighty northern hordes not only spread consternation and alarm, as if the world were coming to an end, but they laid the foundations of kingdoms which continue to this day. In fact, few more important events have occurred in history.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 his series of events was introduced in the manner described in the opening of the sixth seal. I have already said that it is not necessary to suppose, in the fulfillment of the symbol, that there would be a literal earthquake; but nothing in the symbol forbids us to suppose that there might be, and if there were we could not but consider it as remarkable. Now it so happens that the series of events pertaining to the Gothic invasions is introduced by Mr. Gibbon in the following language: "365 a.d. In the second year of the reign of Valentinian and Valens, on the morning of the twenty-first day of July, the greatest part of the Roman world was shaken by a violent and destructive earthquake. The impression was communicated to the waters; the shores of the Mediterranean were left dry by the sudden retreat of the sea; great quantities of fish were caught with the hand; large vessels were stranded on the mud; and a curious spectator amused his eye, or rather his fancy, by contemplating the various appearances of valleys and mountains which had never before, since the formation of the globe, been exposed to the sun. But the tide soon returned, with the weight of an immense and irresistible deluge, which was severely felt on the coasts of Sicily, of Dalmatia, of Greece, and of Egypt; large boats were transported, and lodged on the roofs of houses, or at the distance of two miles from the shore; the people, with their habitations, were swept away by the waters; and the city of Alexandria annually commemorated the day on which fifty thousand persons had lost their lives in the inundation.

This calamity, the report of which was magnified from one province to another, astonished and terrified the subjects of Rome; and their affrighted imagination enlarged the real extent of the momentary evil. They recollected the preceding earthquakes which had subverted the cities of Palestine and Bithynia; they considered these alarming strokes as the prelude only of still more dreadful calamities, and their fearful vanity was disposed to confound the symptoms of a declining empire and a sinking world,"vol. ii. pp. 115, 116. Mr. Gibbon then proceeds to detail the evils of war, as greatly surpassing the calamities produced by any natural causes, and adds (p. 116), "In the disastrous period of the fall of the Roman empire, which may be justly dated from the reign of Valens, the happiness and security of each individual was personally attacked; and the arts and labors of ages were rudely defaced by the barbarians of Scythia and Germany."He then proceeds with an exceedingly interesting description of the origin, the habits, and the movements of the Tartar nations, particularly the Huns, as they moved to the West, and precipitated the Gothic nations on the provinces of the Roman empire, until Rome itself was thrice besieged, was taken, and was sacked (ii. 116-266).

The earthquake referred to occurred in 365 a.d. The movements of the Huns from their territories in the neighborhood of China had commenced about 100 a.d., and in 375 a.d. they overcame the Goths lying along the Danube. The Goths, pressed and overcome by these savage invaders, asked permission of the Romans to cross the Danube, to find protection in the Roman empire, and to cultivate the waste lands of Thrace (Gibbon, ii. 129, 130). In the year 376 they were transported over the Danube, by the permission of the Roman emperor Valens; an event which, according to Mr. Gibbon, in its ultimate result, was the cause of the downfall of the empire; for they learned their own strength; they were attracted by the riches of the capital and the hope of reward, until they finally drew the Western emperor to Ravenna, sacked Rome, and took possession of Italy.

\caps1 (4) a\caps0 slight reference to the series of events in these periods of consternation and conquest may show more closely the nature of the alarms which would be caused by the prospect of these dreadful invasions, and may prepare us for a better understanding of the successive calamities which occurred under these invaders, when the empire fell, as described by the four first trumpets of the seventh seal. I shall copy from the tables of contents of Mr. Gibbon’ s history, under the twenty-sixth, thirtieth, and thirty-first chapters:

"ad
365	Earthquakes.
376	The Huns and Goths.
100	The emigration of the Huns.
375	Their victories over the Goths.
376	The Goths implore the protection of Valens.
376	They are transported over the Danube into the Roman Empire.
376	They penetrate into Thrace.
377	Union of the Goths with Huns, Alani, etc.
378	Battle of Hadrianople.
378	The defeat of the Romans.
383-395	The settlement of the Goths in Thrace and Asia.
395	Revolt of the Goths.
396	Alaric marches into Greece.
398	Is proclaimed king of the Visigoths.
400-403	He invades Italy.
406	Radagaisus invades Italy.
406	Besieges Florence.
406	Threatens Rome.
406	The remainder of the Germans invade Gaul.
407	Desolation of Gaul.
408	Alaric marches to Rome.
408	First siege of Rome by the Goths.
408	Famine, plague, superstition.
409	Alaric accepts a ransom and raises the siege.
409	Fruitless negotiations for peace.
409	Second siege of Rome by the Goths.
410	Third siege and sack of Rome by the Goths.
410	Respect of the Goths for the Christian religion.
410	Pillage and fire of Rome.
410	Captives and fugitives.
411-416	Fall of the usurpers Jovinus, Sebastian, and Attalus.
409	Invasion of Spain by the Suevi, Vandals, Alani, etc.
415-418	The Goths conquer and restore Spain."

(5) This would coincide, in the effects produced on the empire, with the consternation and alarm described in the passage before us. The symbols are such as would be employed on the supposition that these are the events referred to; they are such as the events are suited to suggest. The mighty preparations in the East and North - the report of which could not but spread through the empire - would be appropriately symbolized by the earthquake, the darkened sun, the moon becoming like blood, the stars falling, the departing heavens, and the kings and great men of the earth fleeing in alarm to find a place of safety, as if the end of the world were drawing near. Nothing could have been so well adapted to produce the consternation described in the opening of the sixth seal, as the dreaded approach of vast hosts of barbarians from the regions of the North. This alarm would be increased by the fact that their numbers were unknown; that their origin was hidden; and that the advancing multitudes would sweep everything before them.

As in other cases, also, rumour would increase their numbers and augment their ferocity. The sudden shock of an earthquake, the falling stars, the departing heavens, the removal of mountains and islands, and the consternation of kings and all classes of people, would be the appropriate emblems to represent these impending calamities. In confirmation of this, and as showing the effect produced by the approach of the Goths, and the dread of the Gothic arms, in causing universal consternation, the following extracts may be adduced from Mr. Gibbon, when describing the threatened invasion of Alaric, king of the Visigoths. He quotes from Claudian. "‘ Fame,’ says the poet,’ encircling with terror her gloomy wings, proclaimed the march of the barbarian army, and filled Italy with consternation.’ "Mr. Gibbon adds, "the apprehensions of each individual were increased in just proportion to the measure of his fortune; and the most timid, who had already embarked their valuable effects, meditated their escape to the island of Sicily, or to the African coast. The public distress was aggravated by the fears and reproaches of superstition. Every hour produced some horrid tale of strange and portentous accidents; the pagans deplored the neglect of omens and the interruption of sacrifices; but the Christians still derived some comfort from the powerful intercession of the saints and martyrs,"ii. 218, 219. See further illustrations in the notes on Rev 8:7-13.

Poole: Rev 6:1

Rev 6:1-17 The opening of six of the seals in order, and what followed thereupon.

Chapter Introduction

We are now come to the prophetical, and therefore the most difficult, part of this mysterious book; as to which I judge it reasonable, before we come to open the mysterious text, (after Mr. Pool’ s method in his Latin Synopsis), to premise some things which may instruct the reader of these notes, both of the things wherein the difficulties lie, and of the fairest way to find out the sense of them. Hitherto we have met with no great difficulties; what have been, have been chiefly:

1. Concerning the seven Spirits of God.

2. Concerning the seven churches, and epistles to them; whether the churches be to be considered typically, and what was written to them be to be understood in a prophetic, as well as a didactic, or a corrective sense?

But in what follows we shall find great (if not some inextricable) difficulties. To prepare a way for the explication of which:

1. I shall first take it for granted, that from this chapter to the end of the book, is revealed the most remarkable things which have happened, or shall happen, to the church of God over all the earth, from the time of this Revelation first made to John, to the end of the world.

2. Hence it followeth, that many of the things prophesied are fulfilled; but how many is hard to determine, because the time is not set when these revelations should take place; whether (as some would have it) from the beginning of Christianity, which, to me, seemeth not probable; because at this time ninety-five years were elapsed since that time, and this prophecy was concerning the things that were to be after the time of John’ s being in Patmos, Rev 1:1 22:6 ; or from the beginning of the time when the Jewish church and state ceased, which was twenty-six or twenty-seven years before this; or from the time when this Revelation was, which was Anno 95, or thereabouts, in the time when Domitian was the Roman emperor, and had began his persecution of the Christians, which (as historians tell us) was but five years before he was slain, for he was slain in September, 97. And for those that are fulfilled, the things spoken are so applicable to various accidents happening in that period of time, that it is very difficult ofttimes to assert the sense of the prophecy.

3. I take it for granted also, that things happened in the same order as is here described; so as the things under the second seal came not to pass till those prophesied of under the first seal were, in a great measure, accomplished, &c.

4. I agree with those who think, that what we have, Rev 12:1-13:18, Rev 17:1-18:24 , are but a prophecy of other things that happened to the church at the same times spoken of, Rev 6:1-10:11 .

5. I do believe the visions of the seals, trumpets, and vials, Rev 6:1-17,8:1-13,15:1-8,16:1-21 , the principal prophecies, and contain the revelation of things in order as they were to happen; and of these, that of the seals is the principal.

6. I agree with those who think, that God, by the first six seals, intends the whole space from the time when the things written in this book began to be fulfilled, unto the time when paganism was rooted out of the Roman empire, which some make the year 310, some, 325. In which time (counting the beginning from the time when John was in Patmos, which was in Domitian’ s time) the emperors of Rome were Nerva, Trajan, Adrianus, Antoninus Pius, Antoninus Philosophus, Antoninus Verus, Commodus, Severus, Caracalla, Macrinus, Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, Maximinus, Gordianus, Philippus, Decius, Valerianus, Gallienus, Claudius, Aurelianus, Tacitus, Probus, Carus, Numerianus, Dioclesianus with Maximinianus, Constantius Chlorus with Galerius, Constantius with Galerus, Constantinus; in all, twenty-seven, in about two hundred years: they were all persecutors, and God allowed them short reigns. So as what we have revealed in and under the first six seals, happened within the Short space of the three hundred or three hundred and twenty-five first years after Christ; I am apt to think, after ninety-eight or one hundred of them were elapsed. These things being premised, let us now come to consider the text.

John’ s vision continueth still: by the Lamb he means Christ, the Lamb oft mentioned Rev 5:1-14 ; and by

one of the seals one of the seven seals mentioned Rev 5:1 , that were set upon the book which John saw in the right hand of God the Father, given to Christ, Rev 5:7 . Christ began to discover the counsels of God relating to that first period of his church. And John heard one of the four living creatures speaking to him with a great and terrible voice, like

the noise of thunder Inviting him to come near, or to attend and see.

Poole: Rev 6:2

Some, by this white horse understand the gospel; others, the Roman empire. And by him that sat thereon with a bow, some understand Christ going forth with power to convert the nations; others (and in my opinion more probably) the Roman emperors, armed with power, and having the imperial crown, carrying all before them. So as that which God intended by this to reveal to St. John, was, that the Roman emperors should yet continue, and use their power against his church. Those that understand by the white horse, the gospel, or God’ s dispensations to his church under the first period, and by the rider, Christ, (amongst whom is our famous Mede), think, that hereby all the time is signified from Christ’ s ascension, which was in the thirty-fourth year after his incarnation, till the time that all the apostles were dead, that is, the first hundred years after Christ (for so long histories tell us John lived). It was the age then current, and so may take up part of the vision of things that were to come. The history of all but forty of those years we have in the Acts, till Paul was carried prisoner to Rome. In this period ruled Augustus Caesar, (in whose time Christ was born, Luk 2:1 ), Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero, Galba, Otho, F. Vespasianus, Titus, and Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan, ten or eleven in all. They went on

conquering, and to conquer the world. But till Nero’ s time, about the year 66, they did not begin to persecute the Christians; nor did Vespasian and Titus much rage, nor Domitian, till he had reigned eight years: so as I leave it indifferent to the reader, whether to understand by the white horse and his rider, God’ s dispensations of providence to his church these first years, causing his gospel to prevail much, and conquering many to the profession of it, or the Roman empire, with those that ruled it: what is said is true of both.

Poole: Rev 6:3

The second seal the second of those seven seals with which the book, mentioned Rev 5:1 , was sealed.

The second beast the beast like a calf Rev 4:7 .

Come and see inviting John to attend.

Poole: Rev 6:4

And there went out another horse that was red signifying blood and slaughter.

And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth either to Christ, (as some say), or to those that ruled the affairs of the Roman empire at that time, to disturb the peace of the church.

And that they should kill one another: this was a time of much blood.

And there was given unto him a great sword and therefore a sword is given to him that rode upon the this horse. Some think that this period began with Nero, thirty-four years before the other ended (according to what was said before); others make it to begin with Trajan, and to comprehend eighty years, until the time of Commodus; in which time Trajan, and Hadrian, and the three Antoninuses successively ruled the Roman empire: the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian took up near half the time, in which time this prophecy was most eminently fulfilled; for in Trajan’ s time the Jews rebelling, and killing many subjects of the Roman empire, to the number of twenty-two thousand in one place, and two hundred and forty thousand in another place, themselves were as miserably handled by the Roman forces sent by Trajan and Hadrian, who slew of them (as histories tell us) five hundred and fourscore thousand: nay, the Jews themselves say, they lost double the number of those who came out of Egypt, and more than they lost by Nebuchadnezzar, or by Titus when their city was taken: on the other side the Romans lost very many. Many Christians also were put to death during this period, during which was the third and fourth persecution.

Poole: Rev 6:5

The third beast was he who had the face of a man, who also inviteth John to come and see what came forth upon his opening

the third seal He seeth

a black horse and a rider upon him, with

a pair of balances There is a difference amongst interpreters what should be signified by this black horse; some by it understand famine, because a scarcity of victuals bringeth men to a black and swarthy colour; some understand by it justice, because the rider is said to have a pair of balances in his hand; others understand by it heresies, and great sufferings of the church by heretics and others.

He that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand either to give men their bread by weight, (as is usual in times of great scarcity), or to measure out every one their due.

Poole: Rev 6:6

A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny: interpreters are at so great a loss here to fix the sense, that some think this phrase signifies famine and scarcity; others think it signifies great plenty. The Greek word here used, signifieth, say some, half a bushel; others say it signifieth so much bread corn as is sufficient for four loaves; others say, something more than a quart; others, so much as was allowed servants for maintenance for a day: let it be which it will, it signifies no great scarcity; for the word signifying

a penny signified but as much in our money as came to seven pence halfpenny. I think therefore Mr. Mede judgeth well, that by the black horse was signified not a time of famine and scarcity, but of plenty; and the rather, because it is added, hurt not the oil and the wine: and that the balances in the rider’ s hands signified not scales to give men their bread by weight, (as in a time of scarcity), but the balance of justice; nor will the colour of the horse conclude the contrary. The whole therefore of this prophecy seemeth to foretell that this period, from the time of Commodus the Roman emperor, who ruled the empire from the year 180 to 197, and was followed by Severus, Macrinus, Caracalla, Hellogabalus, and Alexander Severus, the son of Mammeas, who came to the empire Anno 222, and reigned to 237, should be a time of great plenty and civil justice. Histories tell us of no famine in that time, but large stories of the great care of two of those emperors especially, for supplying their countries with corn, and for the administering of civil justice. The things foretold by the opening of this seal, our famous Mede makes to have had their accomplishment with the determination of the reign of Alexander Severus.

Poole: Rev 6:7

The beast mentioned Rev 4:7 , that had the face of a flying eagle, inviteth John to attend to the opening of

the fourth seal that is, the revelation of the counsels of God, as to what should happen to the church (within the Roman empire) in the fourth period, which is conceived to have begun with Maximinus, about the year 237, and to have ended with the reign of Dioclesian, 294.

Poole: Rev 6:8

A pale horse a horse of the colour of his rider,

Death which makes men look pale, and bringeth them into the state of the dead, (here translated hell ), whether heaven or hell, as they have lived.

And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth over a great part of the earth.

To kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth to kill men all manner of ways, with the sword, famine, pestilence, and by throwing them to wild beasts. Interpreters judge that here was prophesied what should happen to the Roman empire, and the church within it, from the time when Maximinus was made emperor, which was about the year 237, to the time of Aurelianus, which was about 271. Some extend it to Dioclesian’ s time, which ended about 294; but Mr. Mede rather reserveth that for the fifth seal. If the former time only be taken in, there was within it the seventh, eighth, and ninth persecutions; Dioclesian began the tenth and greatest of all. Within this time this prophecy was eminently fulfilled: Maximinus destroyed all the towns in Germany, for three or four hundred miles. There was a plague lasted fifteen years together in the time of Gallus, who had the empire Anno 255. Three hundred and twenty thousand Goths were slain by Flavius Claudius. Maximinus and Gallienus were both great butchers, both to their own subjects that were heathens, and to Christians. Gallienus is said to have killed three or four thousand every day. Such wars and devastations could not but be followed with famine; besides that we are confirmed in it, both by the testimony of Eusebius and Cyprian, the latter of whom lived within this period.

Poole: Rev 6:9

And when he had opened the fifth seal: this and the next seal’ s opening, is not prefaced with any living creature calling to John to

come and see We must consider:

1. The number of the beasts was but four, who all had had their courses.

2. Some have thought that it is, because here is no mention of any new persecution, but a consequent of the former.

3. But this vision was so plain, it needed no expositor.

I saw under the altar still he speaks in the dialect of the Old Testament, where in the temple was the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense; the allusion here is judged to be to the latter.

The souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held from whence we may not conclude, that the souls of men and women when they die do sleep, as some dreamers have thought. These are said to be the souls of them that were slain

for the word of God & c., for preaching the word, and their profession of the gospel, bearing a testimony to Christ and his truths. Mr. Mede thinks that under this seal is comprehended the ten bloody years of Dioclesian’ s persecution, which of all others was most severe; paganism at that time (as dying things are wont) most struggling to keep itself alive. This tyrant is said, in the beginning of his reign, within thirty days to have slain seventeen thousand, and in Egypt alone, during his ten years, one hundred and forty-four thousand. He thinks that the souls of those which this wretch had slain throughout all his dominions, within his short period of ten years, were those principally which were showed John upon the opening of this seal.

Poole: Rev 6:10

And they cried with a loud voice their blood cried, or their souls cried to God,

saying, How long, O Lord, holy and therefore thou canst not abide iniquity, and of all iniquity canst least abide innocent blood, which is the blood of thy saints, whose blood is precious in thy sight.

And true and who art true to thy word of threatenings against blood thirsty men, and to thy promises for the deliverance of thy people.

Dost thou net judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Dost thou not judge our cause, and avenge us, who have committed vengeance to thee, not daring to avenge ourselves upon wicked men, who dwelling upon the earth are seen, and their practices known to and by thee, and are under thy power, so as thou canst at pleasure do it.

Poole: Rev 6:11

And white robes were given unto every one of them white robes of glory; for the white robes of Christ’ s righteousness, and of a holy life, were by them put on before they were slain.

That they should rest yet for a little season that they should be satisfied, and acquiesce in God’ s dispensations.

Until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were for God had yet more faithful witnesses to be martyred, (though not in such flocks as before), who should die for the same faith and profession.

Should be fulfilled when the number of those his martyrs should be completed, he would avenge their blood upon their enemies.

Poole: Rev 6:12

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal the sixth of those seals with which the book was sealed, mentioned Rev 5:1 : this signifieth the revelation of some things which should happen in some certain period of time, but what period is the question, as to which interpreters differ. Some think, the time when Jerusalem was taken; but this was a time past twenty-six or twenty-seven years before John was in Patmos, where he had this vision about things that shall be, Rev 1:1 22:6 . Some think, that period of time which shall be immediately before the day of judgment; but that guess seemeth worse, for after this there was a seventh seal to be opened. Some think, the period of the church’ s conflict with antichrist. But Mr. Mede’ s judgment (followed by many other famous men) seems best, that it denotes that period when Constantine, the first Christian emperor, restored peace to the church, by overturning the whole pagan state, and making Christianity the religion of the greatest part of the world. This was about the year 311, and perfected upon his victory over Licinius, 325. In this I acquiesce. Let us now see how what is said in this and the following verses about this period will agree to that time.

And, lo, there was a great earthquake: the great question is here, what is meant by this great earthquake, the darkening of the sun, the moon becoming as blood, &c. No history recording any such prodigies, hath made many (taking these things in the natural, literal sense) to say the period under the first seal signifies either the time when Jerusalem was taken, or the day of judgment; but there is a metaphorical sense of these expressions, very usual in the prophetical writings, to show great changes in states; and in this sense it is to be taken here. Thus the prophet describeth the great change God would make in Jerusalem, Isa 29:6 , Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire: and Jer 15:9 , Her sun is gone down whlie it was yet day. And, Eze 32:7 , the change God would work in the ruin of Egypt, is thus expressed: When I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee. So Joe 2:10,31 , and Joe 3:15 . What is an earthquake, but the shaking of the earth? And under this notion God expresseth the changes he makes in states and kingdoms, Isa 2:19,21 24:18 Hag 2:6,7 . Thus by

earthquake here is to be understood a great change in the Roman empire.

And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood: the sun signifies those that are in the highest power; the moon, those that are next to them in place and dignity.

Poole: Rev 6:13

This is but another phrase signifying a great change: the whole verse is much the same with Isa 34:4 . Literally these things were never yet fulfilled. It is a phrase signifying the fall of great and mighty men.

Poole: Rev 6:14

Two expressions more signifying the same thing. The first is used by the prophet, to signify the change God would make in the state of the Edomites, Isa 34:4 , as will appear by comparing what that prophet saith, with what Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Obadiah say, upon the same argument, Jer 49:7-22 Eze 35:1-15 .

And every mountain and island were moved out of their places all sorts of people shall be destroyed, or all the paganish religion shall be rooted out.

Poole: Rev 6:15

A terror shall fall upon all sorts of men, high and low; and, like men affrighted, they shall seek for themselves hiding places, where they can think themselves most secure: see Isa 2:19 .

Poole: Rev 6:16

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us: see Hos 10:8 Luk 23:30 . They shall be in a great consternation, and be ready to take any course for security.

From the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb from the wrath of God, and of Jesus Christ.

Poole: Rev 6:17

For this judgment that is upon us, is the effect of his wrath for our abusing and persecuting his members; and we, with all our courage, might, and power, are not able to abide his wrath. These words import, that in this great change, as the greatest persons should be at a loss what to do, so they should perish under a conviction that the great vengeance of God was come upon them for their opposing the gospel, and provoking Christ by persecuting of his members.

There are other more particular explications of the sun, moon, stars, heavens, & c., but they all centre in this general, that here is prophesied a great and universal change of the religion of the world, which should strike a great terror into the pagan rulers, and issue in the overturning of all their altars and temples, and the ruin of the great men, relating either to their civil or ecclesiastical state; and that they at last should know that, God was God, and that these judgments came upon them for their opposition to Christ. And (which addeth strength to this interpretation) Mr. Durham hath observed, that no so short period of time hath produced so many remarkable judgments, and extorted so many ingenuous confessions from enemies, that what came upon them was for their persecutions; and a catalogue of which may be found in Mr. Mede, and in Mr. Durham. Mr. Mede reckoneth Galerius, Maximinus, and Licinius. Galerius was eaten up of worms, being before he died sensible of his guilt, ceasing from his persecution, and begging the Christians’ prayers. Maximinus, another Roman emperor, (or partner in the empire with the former), being beaten by Licinius, fled to Tarsus, and there fell upon his pagan priests, who had deceived him by their lying oracles, and made a decree for the Christians’ liberty; but God would not suffer so bloodly a wretch to die after the ordinary death of man; he died miserably through intolerable pain, his eyes dropping out of his head. Licinius was a Christian, and joined a while with Constantine, but apostatized, was overcome in two battles, taken, and by him put to death. All these three were within the space of eighteen years. Mr. Durham to these adds the instances of Dioclesian and Maximinian, little above twenty years before, in the heat of their persecution making a stop, and through a horror of conscience laying down their imperial dignity; and Maxentius, drowned in the river Tiber; and he says Licinius, before mentioned, before he died, revenged himself upon his idolatrous priests that had persuaded him to forsake Constantine’ s God. The change was so great in the empire, upon Constantine the Great’ s coming to the throne, by the death of some great persons, turning others out of place, destroying the whole frame and practice of the pagans’ religion, that it might well be expressed by earthquakes, the sun turning black, the moon as blood, the stars falling from heaven to earth, the heavens departing like a scroll, and the removal of islands and mountains, and by the consternation it would bring all the pagan great men into, &c. And this time, which was a period of about twenty-five or twenty-seven years, is thought to be understood to be the time predicted upon the opening of the sixth seal. Thus we see the dragon’ s reign at an end in about three hundred and eleven or three hundred and twenty-five years after Christ; the empire, as pagan, persecuting the church of Christ, and following it with ten successive persecutions, quite overturned, and a Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, ruling it. But we must understand these great things were not perfected in a few months; some relics of paganism remained; for though Constantine shut up the pagan temples, yet all the idols in them were not destroyed until the time of Theodosius, who began to rule in the empire Anno 379, and reigned sixteen years. Between Constantine and him were Constantius and Constans, Julian the Apostate, and Jovianus, Valentinianus, Valens, and Gratian; during some of whose reigns (Julian’ s especially) the Christians suffered much both from pagans and Arians, so that the Christians had not a full and perfect quiet till after the year 390.

PBC: Rev 6:1

Introduction to the three rhythmic cycles of this vision

Beginning with the seven seals, we have a rhythmic continuation of the same vision: seven seals followed by seven trumpets. This is followed by seven vials. In the three cycles of this vision, we find a silence or period of waiting, between the opening of the sixth and seventh seal. There is a silence, or period of waiting, between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpets. There is a silence, or period of waiting, between the pouring out of the sixth and seventh vials. The purpose of this pause seems to be meant to allow concentration on the events which are taking place. Throughout these cycles, we find an ever increasing intensity in the events. However, they are the same events progressively described in greater detail.

The First Seal Opened: The white horse and its rider {Re 6:1-2}

Re 6:1 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.

Chapter five ended with the scene of all creatures giving honor and praise to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. " Then the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth for ever and ever." It is of greatest importance that one is found who is worthy to open the seals and reveal the things contained therein. What more can be done than time taken to give honor and praise to Him that controls the destiny of time, and of the inhabitants of the earth.

Now the opening of the seals is the uppermost thing to be performed. This is shown by the beast who in thunderous tones spoke to John and said, " Come and see."— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 6:2

Some have interpreted this person as Vespasian whom the Roman emperor, Nero, sent to put down the revolt in Judea and Jerusalem. While there is some symbolic resemblance that could be connected with the coming of Vespasian, we must see the overall meaning of the symbols represented here. (1) This figure was mounted on a white horse. White is the symbol for purity and righteousness. Vespasian, although a conqueror of much territory, could never be pictured as pure or righteous. He caused the death of many of God’s people in the land. (2) This One was given a crown. Vespasian was also given a crown, but, it was after he had returned to Rome[1] upon the death of Nero. He was crowned Emperor of Rome. This was not a direct reward for his excelling in battle. It was what any man would receive upon being elevated to the throne of Emperor of Rome. (3) This One is pictured as having a bow in his hand. This is a symbol of going forth to war. This also did Vespasian do! But there is another who is greater in battle than any general who ever fought. This One is Jesus Christ who waged war against the wiles of Satan. All the symbols represented here truly fit only Him. (a) He is the essence of Purity. (b) He was crowned with a crown before coming to redeem His people. He laid aside that crown and took it on Himself again upon finishing the work which He was sent to do. (3) He conquered death, hell, and the grave and is set down at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for the saints. In this respect, He is still conquering. So I conclude that this One who is seen in the opening of the first seal is none other than Jesus Christ, our Conqueror.

We may find a last proof of this conclusion in Re 19:11, " And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." Please continue reading through Re 19:16 and you will find these words, " And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Scriptures concerning God’s use of the Bow:

David gives us some insight to the bow seen in the hand of Him on the white horse, " The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." {Ps 110:2}

Ps 7:11-13, " God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." Additional clarification of the bow’s meaning may be found in the following Scripture references.

Isa 41:2, " Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow."

La 2:4, " He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire."

Zec 9:12-13, " Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man."

Zec 10:3-5, " Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded."— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Upon Vespasian’s return to Rome, Titus, his son, was left to fight in Judaea. Especially against Jerusalem. Neither of these could ever be understood to be this conqueror who sat upon the white horse with the Bow of battle.

PBC: Rev 6:3

Re 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.

After this seal is opened we see an opposing force. Instead of white we find a rider on a red horse. This is not a figure of peace; it is a figure of evil. Some might portray this to be Satan, but I submit to you that it is a power used by Satan.[1]  We are to understand this Book’s original time placement, with the opening of the Book’s Seals in the light of the destruction of Jerusalem which was finished in the year 70 A.D. Power was given to him to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another with the sword. During the battle which ensued between the Romans and Jews, many of those Jews who were fainthearted wanted to desert to the Roman Army. As a result of this there was fighting and killing between various factions among the Jews. This further weakened their ability to be successful. Titus penetrated the first wall of the city. He proceeded to penetrate the second wall but was driven back. On the second attempt, he was successful and the slaughter was terrible. The Jewish historian Josephus states that those who continued to fight against the Romans who occupied places around the wall had to trample the dead bodies in the streets. Many other terrible acts took place as men slew one another. " Thus did the miseries of Jerusalem grow worse and worse every day, and the seditious were still more irritated by the calamities they were under, even while the famine preyed upon them, after it had preyed upon the people." Again, The opening of the second seal of the Red Horse represents the powers of Rome (Titus and his army) and the great slaughter which accompanied the taking of the city of Jerusalem.— Eld. Charles Taylor  

[1] Re 12:3 Shows " great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads [Upon examination, you will find this figure as being Satan. Therefore, it could not be the same figure represented in Re 6:4]

PBC: Rev 6:5

Re 6:5 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.

Titus had been left by his father, Vespasian to continue the siege on Jerusalem. During this period was the time of harvest. The wheat, grape vineyards, and olives seem to be what is meant here. This was in the spring of 70 A.D. On May 25 the outer wall was breached. The Roman army poured into this part of the city. The besieging army took great care taken so as not to destroy the harvest,[1] as it was the only means of survival of the troops which fought against the Jews. Also, for a time the Jews depended upon slipping past the guard, bringing food into the city for those who were shut up there. This was cut off, and Josephus wrote that the famine was so terrible that mothers began to kill their children and eat them. They reasoned that it would serve two purposes. (1) The children would be spared the agony of punishment at the hand of the Romans. (2) This also would provide food for those who were striving to hold the city from being taken.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Food was a most precious necessity for the survival of both the Roman army and the Jews inside the city. The price was set as 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." Great care would be taken not to destroy the harvest.

PBC: Rev 6:7

Re 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.

This rider on the pale horse, whose name was Death, is representative of the multitude of Jews slaughtered by Rome. The hell which followed him was the suffering of those affected by this period of tribulation. Not only was the city ravaged by famine, there were also those who fought among themselves. Bands of renegades roamed the streets robbing and killing other Jews. The streets were filled with dead bodies until it was impossible for the living to go through the city without stepping upon these dead bodies. Also, the houses were filled with dead bodies which could not be buried. Surely the wrath of the Lamb was being poured out upon this great city of Jews who had just recently crucified the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Jesus had foretold this in the earlier gospels, " Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." {Mt 23:38} He makes the same prediction in Lu 13:35. Other references, some of which I will allude to later, are made throughout the Scriptures. The time of vengeance had come.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 6:9

Re 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.

During the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.)[1] there was great persecution throughout the entire Roman Empire of both the Jews and Christians. History records that Nero became completely demented and killed his mother, his wife, his stepbrother, and others who rose against him. He participated in the circus events and always had to be proclaimed a winner even when he lost. When a great fire destroyed a large part of Rome, the people said that Nero had started it to make room for his palace which was called the " golden house." This fire was blamed on the Christians of the time and many of them were put to death.

We find also in the predictions made by Jesus that the Jews had brought this upon themselves because of their slaughter of those sent to prophesy against them. " Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.." {Mt 23:33-36} These were those under the Altar who cried out for God’s vengeance. Their testimony had been faithful by their retaining their faith in the Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ. Now vengeance was being called for and meted out by the Almighty God who declares, " Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord."— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Ancient and Medieval History" by Magoffin and Duncalf, Page 350.

PBC: Rev 6:12

Re 6:12-13 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.

We will discuss these verses together because of their closeness in accomplishment.

The sixth seal was opened and " there was a great earthquake, the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." We must remember this was written in figurative language. Titus had broken through the third wall[1] and was even now in the innermost part of the temple area. Fire had been set to the gates of the temple area. The fire burned so fiercely that the Holy of holies was set on fire. The clamor of the fighting was so great that the whole earth shook under their feet. The smoke was so thick that nothing could be seen. History records that men did not know whether they were fighting the enemy or those in their own ranks. Have you ever looked at the sun or moon through a smoked glass? This seems to be the conditions described here.

" And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth[2] her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."

Daniel uses the word stars as meaning people, (Speaking of the great he Goat) " And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them." {Da 8:10} The Hebrew word used in this passage for stars was kowkab, ko-kawb’; [ this was used] fig. a prince:—star ([- gazer]). We have already mentioned the great slaughter which went on throughout the city. Bodies were strewn in every passage until it was impossible to walk without stepping on them.

Let us now examine the useage of the word star in the Scriptural meaning which may be more clear. The same word kowkab is used in Joe 2:10, " The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." The word kowkab is used to refer to falling dignitaries in Joe 3:15; Ob 1:4.

New Testament language most often translates the word aster, as-tare’as the same word stars used in the text of Re 6:13. The only exceptions are when it refers to the stars overhead such as, " Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable." {Heb 11:12} This passage uses the word astron, as’-tron; prop. a constellation; put for a single star (nat. or artificial):—star. Jesus’ own words give us further evidence that the word stars refers to the falling dignitaries, " The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." {Re 1:20} It stands without controversy that the seven stars, are the seven angels, which are the pastors, or elders, (men) of the seven churches of Asia.

The meaning in the text seems clear. Especially when we hear what history says about those who had escaped to this part of the temple. Children, old men, and profane persons, and priests [stars] were all slain in the same manner. Their bodies were strewn over the ground as the stars are strewn over the sky.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Chapter V, page 823. of Josephus " War of the Jews." ." .. When they saw the fire of the holy house, they exerted their utmost strength, and brake out into groans and outcries again: Perea [mountain near Jerusalem] did also return the echo, as well as the mountains round about [the city], and augmented the force of the entire noise."

[2] ballo, a primary verb; to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense): arise, cast ( out), X dung, lay, lie, pour, put (up), send, strike, throw ( down), thrust.

PBC: Rev 6:14

The following passages from the history of Josephus, Book VI, Chapter IX, Section 5 best illustrates the fulfillment of these verses; After the Jews had been ejected from the towers [Josephus states] ." .. by God Himself, and fled immediately to that valley which is under Siloam, where they again recovered themselves out of the dread they were in for a while, and ran violently against that part of the Roman wall which lay on that side; but as their courage was too much depressed to make their attacks with sufficient force, and their power was now broken with fear and affliction, they were repulsed by the guards, and dispersing themselves at distances from each other, went down into the subterranean caverns." I believe that although they did not realize this to be the wrath of God and the Lamb, they fulfilled the Scripture in a figure. They fled to the caves to cover them from the oppressor whom God had sent for their destruction.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 6:17

The language of these verses is highly figurative. I do not intend to imply that they only have meaning for that particular time. History seems to repeat itself because man never learns from the past. However, this was a day when the wrath of God and of the Lamb was upon the Jewish world. They had acted so wickedly and had falsely proclaimed the meaning of prophecy until their people had come into judgment.

Mt 24:3 gives an account of Jesus as He sat upon the mount of Olives, ." .. the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Jesus told them to take heed that no man deceive you. There would be many who would come in His name proclaiming to be Christ. " And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." {Mt 24:6-14}

The fulfillment of may be clearly seen in the trials of the early church, and possibly in the opening of the second and third seals of Re 6:3-6. The book of Acts gives us a great testimony of what the disciples suffered. In fact, we are told that, except John, none of the original ones who followed Jesus were still alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. There were others, however, who were willing to suffer at the hands of the enemies of Christ rather than deny His name. History can only confirm things which God has already proclaimed. John was given this message of the Revelation of Jesus Christ before the great catastrophe came upon the Temple of the Jews and the city of Jerusalem. Instead of history proving the Bible to be true- the Bible proves history to be that which God had already proclaimed.— Eld. Charles Taylor

Haydock: Rev 6:1

I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, or the first seal. The interpreters are much divided in expounding what is to be understood by the sealed up contents, and in applying them to such and such persecutions, persons, and events, by all which it appears that there is no certainty as to such applications and expositions, even of particular ancient fathers; though at the same time it is both certain and evident that many pretended interpretations, (that is, arbitrary inventions, from the private spirit of heretics) are both false and groundless, contrary to the unexceptionable authority (to use Dr. W.'s words) of the primitive fathers, and inconsistent with the doctrine and belief of the Catholic Church, as I may have occasion to shew that the ridiculous fable is of this number, of so many popes being antichrist, and the beast of the Apocalypse. I shall, for the satisfaction of the Christian reader, as I hinted in the preface of this book, give a short account of those expositions that are not improbable. (Witham)

Haydock: Rev 6:2

A white horse, such as conquerors used to ride upon at a solemn triumph. This is commonly understood of our Saviour, Christ, who, by himself and his apostles, preachers, martyrs, and other saints, triumphed over all the adversaries of his Church. He had a bow in his hand, the doctrine of his gospel, piercing like an arrow the hearts of the hearers; and the crown given him, was a token of the victory of him who went forth conquering, that he might conquer. (Witham) ---

He that sitteth on the white horse is Christ, going forth to subdue the world by his gospel. The other horses that follow represent the judgments and punishment, that were to fall on the enemies of Christ and his Church: the red horse signifies war; the black horse famine; and the pale horse (which has death for its rider) plagues or pestilence. (Challoner) ---

White horse; viz. Jesus Christ, who came to subdue all nations to the faith. The bow signifies the gospel, and the word of God, those powerful arms, of which St. Paul so often speaks, as being so necessary for all who are engaged in bringing souls to the faith of Christ. The crown marks the sovereign power of Jesus Christ, and the assurance of conquest. (Cornelius; Bossuet; Du Pin)

Haydock: Rev 6:3-4

Opened the second seal, &c. portending wars and shedding of blood, and so he is said to have power to take away peace from the earth . (Witham) ---

Another red horse. This red horse signifies the cruel persecutions, which the Roman emperors carried on against the Christian religion. For this end, it is said immediately after, one sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and kill one another; for this purpose was a great sword given to him. (Andræas; Menochius; Grotius)

Haydock: Rev 6:5

The third seal....a black horse. This is also commonly expounded of wars and persecutions, and particularly of famine, by the scales in the rider's hand, and by two pounds of wheat being sold for a penny: a great price, considering the value of money at that time. (Witham) ---

The black horse represents the public miseries, famines, &c. which, particularly the latter, the Roman empire frequently experienced during the reign of the persecuting emperors. The balance, which the rider is said to hold in his hand, represents the strict manner in which people would measure out whatever they sold during the time of famine. (Andræas; Hamm; Bossuet)

Haydock: Rev 6:7-8

The fourth seal....a pale horse, the rider's name death . It is also expounded of trials, afflictions, persecutions, and especially of plagues, over four parts of the earth, by which may be denoted the great power and extent of the Roman empire. In the Greek we read, over the fourth part of the earth; which some reconcile, by observing that the Roman empire had dominions under it in all the four parts of the world, east, west, north, and south; and that its dominions might be said to comprehend the fourth part of the world. (Witham) ---

By the pale horse, and the rider, death, who sat upon it, followed by hell, are meant that dreadful mortality which ever attends famines, &c. He had power to kill with sword, with famine, &c. All these evils came upon the Roman people, and history has preserved the memory of them, to shew the truth of the prophecy here delivered by St. John. (Grotius; Calmet)

Haydock: Rev 6:9

After the opening of the fifth seal, the souls of the martyrs under the altar cried aloud for justice, saying, how long, &c. Out of zeal for God's honour, and the good of the Church, they pray that the enemies of Christ, and of the Christian faith, may be humbled, and that all may acknowledge and fear the justice of God, by the punishment of his enemies, and the reward of his faithful servants. St. Jerome, by under the altar, understands Christ himself, under whom, as under their head, are all the martyrs. Some who doubted or held that the blessed were not admitted to see God, in heaven before the day of general judgment, have turned this expression, under the altar, or at least the expressions of some of the fathers upon these words, as if they were favourable to their error, which is sufficiently disproved, even by the words that follow, that white robes were given to each of them one, in which they are said to walk with him wherever he goeth. (Chap. iii. 4. and Chap. xiv. 4.) (Witham) ---

Under the altar. Christ, as man, is this altar, under which the souls of the martyrs live in heaven: as their bodies are here deposited under our altars. ---

Revenge our blood. They ask not this out of hatred to their enemies, but out of zeal for the glory of God, and a desire that the Lord would accelerate the general judgment, and the complete beatitude of all his elect. (Challoner) ---

These holy souls, who had been slain for the word of God, do not beg the Almighty to revenge their blood, through any hatred of their enemies, but through the great zeal with which they were animated, to see the justice of God manifested: that by this severity they might be moved to fear him, and be converted to him. Thus in the Scripture we often read of the prophets beseeching the Almighty to fill their enemies with confusion, to humble them, &c. (Perer; Bossuet; Du Pin, &c.) ---

And white robes. To console them, they each had given them a white robe, as a mark of their innocence, and as an assurance that on account of it they would in due time receive full measure of beatitude. They should rest yet a little while, most probably to the day of final retribution, when the number of those destined to be their brethren in bliss should be completed. Then they should all together receive full recompense, and their persecutors be covered with confusion. (St. Augustine, serm. xi. de sanctis; Gregory the great, lib. ii. Moral. cap. iv.

Haydock: Rev 6:12

At the opening of the sixth seal....a great earthquake, &c. Many think that these dreadful signs, of the sun turning black, &c. are not to happen till the time of antichrist, a little before the end of the world. See Matthew xiv.; Luke xxi.; Isaias xiii. and xxxiv.; Ezechiel xxxiii.; Daniel xii.; &c. Others apply these prodigies to God's visible chastisements, on the heathen emperors and persecutors of the Christians, before the first Christian emperor Constantine. (Witham) ---

And I saw. The sixth seal being opened, St. John sees painted before him the severe and terrible manner in which the Almighty would revenge himself on his enemies. It may refer either to the time of Constantine, when we behold the Christian religion triumphing on the ruins of paganism, and after his death, and that of his sons, the empire of Rome given up a prey to barbarians, Rome itself taken and pillaged, and all the provinces thrown into dreadful disorder and consternation; or it may likewise refer to the day of general judgment, when the Almighty will make sinners drink the wine of his indignation, in presence of all the just; of which dreadful time of vengeance all other particular judgments are only imperfect figures. (Victorin; Ven. Bede; Tichon) ---

St. John, in imitation of the ancient prophets, makes use of the earthquake, &c. hyperbolically, to mark more strongly the dreadful and horrible evils with which the Roman empire, and its persecuting emperors, we to be overwhelmed. Rome itself was filled with wars and seditions, both at home and abroad. The emperors were all destroyed by the Almighty in a most singular manner; witness Maxentius, who was thrown headlong into the Tiber; Maximin Jovius, who, under a horrible and incurable disease, owned the hand of the Almighty afflicting him; Maximin Daia, who, being overcome in battle, fled away in disguise, and at last, seized with a strange disease, his bowels were all consumed, he lost his eyes, and died reduced to a mere skeleton. Witness likewise Licinius, who, being engaged with Constantine, was always beaten, and at length strangled. Maximian also, the rival of Constantine, who strangled himself in Marseilles, where he had been confined. (Calmet)

Haydock: Rev 6:14

And every mountain. In the dreadful confusion of the Roman empire, in the time of Constantine, so great was the revolution, that mountains appeared, as it were, moved out of their places; islands shifted from their accustomed situations. We behold at one time seven persons, Maximin Galerius, Maxentius, Severus Cæsar, Maximin, Alexander, Maximin Hercules, and Licinius, all aiming at the empire. The first six perished in nine years, from 305 to 314: Licinius was strangled in 324. All these were enemies of the Christian religion. Constantine, who supported it, remained sole master of the empire. (Calmet)

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Gill: Rev 6:1

And I saw, when the Lamb opened one of the seals,.... Of the sealed book; one of the seven seals of it, as read the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and the Oriental versions, and the Complutensian edition; that is, the first; so "one" is used for first in Gen 1:5; and as appears from the following seals being called second, third, fourth, &c. These seals express events to be fulfilled; and therefore cannot respect the steps towards, and the signs of Jerusalem's destruction, and that itself, which had been accomplished some years before the vision of the seals; and which vision would have been needless: and these are called seals, because they were sealed among God's treasure, or were resolved on, and decreed by him; and because they were hidden and unknown until they came to pass; and when they were come to pass, they were pledges of what God would do in the destruction of Rome Papal, as here in the destruction of Rome Pagan: for these seals, at least the first six of them, concern the Pagan empire, and the state of the church in it; and are so many gradual steps to the ruin of it, and to the advancing and increasing of the kingdom of Christ; and these, with the seven trumpets, which the last seal introduces, reach from the times of the apostles to the end of time, as appears from Rev 10:6. Now the opening of these seals is the revealing of the events signified by them, and expressed in the hieroglyphics here made use of, and the fulfilment of them;

and I heard as it were the noise of thunder; a voice very loud and sonorous, exciting the attention of John:

one of the four beasts saying, come and see; this was the of the four living creatures, for the word one is used in the same sense as in the foregoing clause; and this creature was like to a lion, Rev 4:7; wherefore his voice was loud, as when a lion roars, Rev 10:3, and is fitly compared to thunder: there is no need to look out for any particular person, as intended by this living creature; or to conclude him to be Peter, as Grotius, who was dead before this seal was opened; or Quadratus, Aristides, and Justin Martyr, who courageously appeared in the Christian cause, and made very excellent apologies for it, with success, since these lived under the second seal; it is enough in general to understand the ministers of the Gospel, who, as sons of thunder, loudly and publicly preached the Gospel, and, as lions, boldly and bravely defended, and took notice of the power and providence of God in succeeding their ministry, and in weakening the kingdom of Satan in the Gentile world, and particularly in the Roman empire; and therefore are represented as calling to John to "come and see"; observe and take notice of the following hieroglyphic, representing the success of the Gospel ministry, תא חזי, "come and see", is a phrase often used by the Jews, to stir up attention to what is about to be said; See Gill on Joh 1:46.

Gill: Rev 6:2

And I saw, and behold a white horse,.... Representing the ministration of the Gospel in the times of the apostles, which were just now finishing, John being the last of them, who saw this vision; and the "horse" being a swift, majestic, and warlike creature, and fearless of opposition and war, may design the swift progress of the Gospel in the world, the majesty, power, and authority with which it came, and opposition it met with, and which was bore down before it; and its "white" colour may denote the purity of Gospel truths, the peace it proclaims, the joy brings, and the triumph that attends it, on account of victories obtained by it, and which is afterwards suggested: white horses were used in triumphs, in token of victory ⁿ; a white horse, in a dream, is a good sign with the Jews ^o; and Astrampsychus says ^p, a vision of white horses is an apparition of angels; and so one of those angels which the Jews suppose to have the care of men, and the preservation of them, is said ^q to ride by him, and at his right hand, upon a white horse; but the rider here is not an angel, but the head of all principality and power:

and he that sat on him had a bow; with arrows; the bow is the word of the Gospel, and the arrows the doctrines of it; see Hab 3:9; so called for their swift motion, sudden and secret striking, piercing, and penetrating nature, reaching to the very hearts of men; laying open the secret thoughts and iniquity thereof; wounding, and causing them to fall, and submit themselves to the sceptre of Christ's kingdom:

and a crown was given unto him; by God the Father; expressive of Christ's regal power and authority, of his honour and dignity, and of his victories and conquests:

and he went forth, conquering and to conquer; in the ministration of the Gospel, which went forth, as did all the first ministers of it, from Jerusalem, to the several parts of the world; from the east, on which side of the throne was the first living creature, who called upon John to come and see this sight, as the standard of the tribe of Judah, which had a lion upon it, was on the east side of the camp of Israel; and out of Zion went forth the word of the Lord, which was very victorious, both among Jews and Gentiles, to the conversion of thousands of them, and to the planting of a multitude of churches among them, and to the setting up and advancing the kingdom of Christ; but inasmuch as yet all things are not made subject to him, he is represented as going forth in the Gospel, still conquering, and to conquer, what remain to be conquered: that Christ is designed by him that sat on the white horse, and is thus described, is evident from Rev 19:11; with which compare Psa 45:3, though as this emblem may respect the Roman empire, the white horse may be an emblem of the strong, warlike, and conquering state of it; and the rider which a bow and crown may design Vespasian, whom Christ made use of as an instrument to conquer his enemies the Jews, and who, in consequence thereof, had the imperial crown put upon him; and it may be further observed, that though his conquest of them was a very great one, yet they afterwards rose up in the empire, in great numbers, rebelled, and did much mischief, when they were entirely conquered by Trajan and Hadrian, who seem to be intended in the next seal.

Gill: Rev 6:3

And when he had opened the second seal,.... Of the sealed book; that is, the Lamb, as before:

I heard the second beast say, come and see; this living creature was the ox, whose situation was on the west side of the throne, as the standard of Ephraim, on which was an ox, was on the west of the camp of Israel; no mention is made of the noise of thunder, as before, the voice of the ox being lower than that of the lion; and this perhaps may point out a decrease in the Gospel ministry; to fix on any particular person, as, with Grotius, the Evangelist Matthew, because he says, Mat 24:7, nation shall rise against nation, which carries in it some likeness to what is said at the opening of this seal; or, as with Brightman, Justin Martyr, whose second apology was not regarded by the emperor, is mere conjecture; the ministers of the Gospel are intended who lived under this seal, who, though they might not be strong and courageous like the lion, or their predecessors, yet were like the ox, laborious in preaching, and patient in suffering; and these are represented in this vision as inviting John to behold and observe the following hieroglyphic.

Gill: Rev 6:4

And there went out another horse, that was red,.... Which may be an emblem either of the suffering state of the church, being answerable to the Smyrnaean one, as the purity and power of the Gospel, represented in the former seal, may answer to the Ephesine church; or else of those contentions and divisions occasioned among men through the Gospel, which, though of a peaceable nature, yet, through the corruption and depravity of men, brings not peace, but a sword; or rather of those bloody wars within the period of time signified by this seal, which came as punishments on the enemies of the Gospel:

and power was given to him that sat thereon; not the Lord Jesus Christ, who is said to ride on a red horse, Zec 1:8; though indeed he presides over his church and people, and takes the care of them when the most desolating judgments are in the earth, and causes all things to work together for good; nor Satan, the red dragon, who was a murderer from the beginning, and delights in effusion of blood, and in stirring up of men to destroy one another, whenever he is permitted; but Trajan the Roman emperor, in whose reign John died; and who came from the west, and was a Spaniard, as was Hadrian his successor, who may be joined with him; which was the side, or quarter, on which the living creature was that spoke to John; and in the times of these emperors were very bloody and civil wars: wherefore power is said to be given him,

to take peace from the earth; that is, from the Roman empire, which is sometimes called the whole world; and which could not have been done, if power had not been given from him who makes peace, and creates evil:

and that they should kill one another: which refers not to the havoc and slaughter which the Jews made one of another at the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the Jews murdering of the Greeks and Romans, and the Romans the Jews, in the times of the above emperors. In Trajan's time, the Jews who dwelt about Cyrene, under the conduct of one Andrew, fell upon the Romans and Greeks, and killed many, fed on their flesh, ate their bowels, besmeared themselves with their blood, and covered themselves with their skins; many of them they sawed asunder, from the crown of the head down to the middle; many of them they threw to the wild beasts, and many of them they forced to fight among themselves, till they had destroyed above two hundred and twenty thousand men; in Egypt and Cyprus they committed the same kind of outrages, their leader being one Artemion, where two hundred and forty thousand men perished ^r; Lybia was almost emptied of men by them; so that Hadrian, the successor of Trajan, was obliged to send colonies to repeople the places they had made desolate. But at length they were overcome by Lupus, governor of Egypt, and by Marcius Turbo, and by Lucius, whom Trajan sent against them ^s, and destroyed great numbers of them; and for the space of about fourteen years they were quiet; but in Hadrian's time they rose again, and set one Bar Cochab, a false Messiah, at the head of them, whom they proclaimed king: when Hadrian sent forces against them, and with great difficulty subdued them, took the city Bither, where they were, and destroyed at times five hundred and eighty thousand of them ^t; the Jews say, that he put men, women, and children to death in such numbers, that their blood ran down into the main sea, yea, that a horse might go up to his nose in blood ^u; they say that he destroyed in Bither double the number of those that came out of Egypt, even twelve hundred thousand men ^w; some of their accounts are very extravagant, and exceed all bounds ^x; however, the slaughter was very great, that it may well be said,

and there was given unto him a great sword; to slay men with; though Hadrian on his death bed, amidst his pains, would fain have had a sword given to him to have dispatched his own life, and could not obtain one ^y; the Jews say he destroyed all the land of Judea ^z.

Gill: Rev 6:5

And when he had opened the third seal,.... Of the sealed book:

I heard the third beast say, come and see; this living creature was that which was like a man, who was on the south side of the throne, as the standard of Reuben, which had the figure of a man, was on the south side of the camp of Israel; this was not the Apostle Paul, as Grotius thinks, to whom was made a prophecy of a famine in the days of Claudius Caesar; nor Tertullian, who made an apology for the Christians in the times of this seal, as Brightman conjectures; but the ministers of the Gospel, whose voice was neither the voice of the lion nor of the ox, but of a man, which was still lower, but yet they retained their humanity, reasoning prudence, and wisdom; and these are represented as calling upon John to come and see, and take notice of the following hieroglyphic:

and I beheld, and lo a black horse; an emblem either of the afflicted state of the church, still answering to the Smyrnaean one, being black with persecutions, schisms, errors, and heresies, which were many; or particularly of the heresies and heretics of those times, who might be compared to a horse for their pride and ambition, speaking great swelling words of vanity, and to a black one, for their hidden things of dishonesty, and works of darkness, for the darkness in themselves, and which they spread over others; or rather of a famine, not in a spiritual sense, of hearing of the word, but in a literal sense; see Lam 4:7; not what was at the siege of Jerusalem, or in the times of Claudius Caesar, Act 11:28; but in the times of the Emperor Severus, and others, as the historians of those times ^a, and the writings of Tertullian show; when the Heathens ascribed the scarcity that was among them to the wickedness of the Christians ^b, whereas it was a judgment upon them for their persecution of them:

and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand; by whom is meant not some noted heretic, or heretics, who had balances of deceit in their hands to prove their tenets by, such as spurious writings, &c. or who made pretensions to the Scriptures, the balance of the sanctuary, to weigh doctrines in; nor Christ, whose name heretics shrouded themselves under, and professed, and who overruled and made use of their heresies for the good of his people, that they might be made manifest. Mr. Mede thinks that Septimius Severus, the Roman emperor, who came from Africa, from the south, on which side was the living creature that spoke to John, is intended, and in which country black horses were in great esteem; and he was the only African that ever was emperor of Rome before ^c: and the same author thinks, that his having a pair of balances in his hand expresses the strict justice that emperor was famous for; but rather it signifies famine, and such a scarcity as that bread is delivered out by weight to men; see Lev 26:26.

Gill: Rev 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say,.... Not the voice of Agabus to the Apostle Paul, Act 11:28; but rather of Christ, who was in the midst of them, Rev 5:6; the Ethiopic version adds, "as the voice of an eagle":

a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; "Choenix", the measure here used, signifies as much as was sufficient for a man for one day, as a penny was the usual hire of a labourer for a day, Mat 20:2; so a choenix of corn was allowed to each man in Xerxes's army for a day, according to Herodotus ^d; the same quantity for a day was given by the Romans to their shepherds and servants, and is generally said to be about two pounds; according to Agricola it was two pounds and a quarter ^e. This measure was very different; the Attic choenix was a measure that held three pounds, the Italic choenix four pounds, and the military choenix five pounds, and answers to the Hebrew Kab ^f; and in the Septuagint version of Eze 45:10; it answers to the Bath; and some make it to be the fourth part of a bushel, and others half a bushel ^g; the first account of its being about two pounds, and the allowance of a man for a day, seems best to agree with this place: so that this phrase expresses such a scarcity, as that a man's daily wages would be but just enough to buy himself bread, without any thing to eat with it; and when he would have nothing left for clothes, and other things, nor anything for his wife and children:

and see that thou hurt not the oil and wine; signifying that this scarcity should fall not upon the superfluities, such as oil and wine, which may be spared, and men can live without; but upon the necessities of life, particularly bread: some render the words, "and be not unjust in the oil and wine"; and so think they refer to the laws of the Roman emperors, in relation to wine and oil, and to the just execution of them, that there might be plenty of them; and others understand them in an allegorical sense, of the principal doctrines of the Gospel, comparable to oil and wine, and which Christ takes care of, that they shall not be hurt and destroyed by heretics and false teachers, even when they prevail the most, and bring on a famine of the word, and when the church is blackened and darkened with them; and indeed these may much better be applied to the Gospel, than, as they are by the Jews, to the law; who frequently say ^h that the law is called "oil", and speak of יינה של תורה, "the wine of the law" ⁱ:

Gill: Rev 6:7

And when he had opened the fourth seal,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; that is, when the Lamb had opened it, or took it off, as in Rev 6:1;

I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see; this living creature was that which was like an eagle, and was on the north side of the throne, answerable to the standard of Dan, which was on the north of the camp of Israel, and had the figure of an eagle upon it; and the opening of this seal begins with Maximinus the Roman emperor, who came from Thrace, far north. This living creature was not James, the brother of our Lord, who had been dead long ago, as Grotius imagines; nor Cyprian, as Brightman thinks, though he lived under this seal; but the ministers of the Gospel in general in the times referred to are intended: and it may denote some decline in the Gospel ministry, that they had not the courage and strength of the lion, as the first Gospel preachers; nor the patience and laboriousness of the ox, the next set of ministers; nor the solidity and prudence of the man, the ministers that followed them; and yet they retained some degree of light and knowledge, sagacity and penetration, and contempt of the world, signified by the eagle; these invite John in a visionary way to come and see the following hieroglyphic.

Gill: Rev 6:8

And I looked, and behold a pale horse,.... An emblem either of the state of the church, pale not with persecution, as some think, for through that it was red; but with the hypocrisy and superstition of many of its members, who were paving the way for the man of sin, and on account of whom the church was grown sickly and dying; or rather this is an emblem of the sickly and dying state of the Pagan Roman empire, through a complication of judgments upon it, hereafter mentioned, as war, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts:

and his name that sat on him was Death; not Satan, who has the power of death, but death itself; who is represented as a person, as he elsewhere is, sometimes as a king, Rom 5:14; and as an enemy, 1Co 15:25; see Isa 28:15; and this was a very ancient way of speaking of death among the Heathens; in the theology of the Phoenicians, according to Sanchoniathon ^k, who wrote before the Trojan wars, a son of Saturn by Rhea was called Muth, whom the Phoenicians sometimes called Death, and sometimes Pluto; which is manifestly the same with the Hebrew word מות, "death"; the name of the rider of this horse may well be called Death, both with respect to the various kinds of death under this seal, and with respect to the short lives of the emperors; for in less than fifty years' time, which is the period of this seal, namely, from Maximinus, A. D. 235, or 237, to Dioclesian, A. D. 284, or 286, there were more than twenty emperors, and who most of them were cut off by violent deaths; besides the thirty tyrants who sprung up under one of them, as so many mushrooms, and were soon destroyed. This is the only rider that has a name given him; and from hence we may learn what to call the rest, as the rider of the white horse "Truth", or Christ, who is truth itself; the rider of the red horse "War"; and the rider of the black horse "Famine": and because both the last, with other judgments, meet together under this seal, the rider of this horse is emphatically called "Death":

and hell followed with him: that is, the grave, which attended on death, or followed after him, and was a sort of an undertaker, to bury the dead killed by death; so these two are put together, Rev 1:18;

and power was given unto them; to death and hell, or the grave, or rather to death only, for the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read, "to him": and the power that was given him reached

over the fourth part of the earth; not of the church, which is never called the earth in this book, but is distinguished from it, Rev 12:16; nor the land of Judea, but the Roman empire; some understand it of Europe, the fourth part of the world:

to kill with the sword; Maximinus, with whom this seal begins, was of a very barbarous disposition, and a more cruel creature, it is said, was not upon earth; and besides his persecution of the Christians, he acted a most inhuman part to the Pagan Romans themselves, so that the senate dreaded him; and the women and children at Rome, having heard of his barbarities, deprecated his ever seeing that city; and he was called by the names of the worst of tyrants; more than four thousand men he killed without any charge or judicial process against them, and yet his blood thirsty mind was not satisfied ^l: Gallienus, another emperor after him, emptied many cities entirely of men, and killed three or four thousand a day of his own soldiers, whom he understood had thoughts of a new emperor ^m; under him thirty tyrants sprung up together in the empire, who made great havoc before they were cut off; and in his time the Alemanni (a people in Germany) having wasted France, broke into Italy; Dacia, which beyond the Danube was added by Trajan (to the Roman empire) was lost; Greece, Macedonia, Pontus, and Asia, were destroyed by the Goths; Pannonia was depopulated by (the people called) Sarmatae and Quadi; the Germans penetrated into Spain, and took the famous city of Tarracon; the Parthians having seized Mesopotamia, began to claim Syria to themselves; so that, as the Roman historian observes ⁿ, things were now desperate, and the Roman empire was almost destroyed: not to take notice of the multitudes that were killed in after wars and persecutions, under other emperors, during this seal:

and with hunger; or famine; there was a grievous famine in the times of Gallus and Volusianus, which Dionysius bishop of Alexandria makes mention of ^o; and Cyprian, who lived under this seal, also speaks of famine, and indeed of all these three, war, famine, and pestilence, as then imputed to the Christians, and to their irreligion, which charge he removes ^p:

and with death; that is, with the pestilence, which, by the Targumist ^q, and other Jewish writers ^r, is commonly called מותנא, "death", because it sweeps away and carries off such large numbers with it: now in the reign of the last mentioned emperors was a very noisome pestilence, which raged most cruelly; the Roman historian says ^s, that their reign is only known, or was famous, for the pestilence, diseases, and sicknesses; Hostilianus, who was created emperor by the senate, died of it ^t; Dionysius of Alexandria has given a most shocking account of it, who lived at the same time ^u; it began in Ethiopia, and went through the east, and through all parts of the Roman empire, and lasted fifteen years; to which perhaps, for its large extent and long duration, there never was the like:

and with the beasts of the earth; by which many of the Christians were destroyed in the persecutions of those times; and is also one of God's four judgments, and which goes about with the sword, famine, and pestilence, Eze 14:21, and may be literally understood of destruction by wild beasts, as Arnobius, who lived at this time, observes ^w; or allegorically, of men comparable to wild beasts, as Herod is called a fox, and Nero a lion; and such savage creatures were most of the Roman emperors, and particularly the thirty tyrants under Gallienus: so the Targum on Jer 3:12; interprets "the beasts of the field", מלכי עממיא, "the kings of the nations". The Alexandrian copy reads, "and upon the fourth part of the beasts", as if the power of death reached to them as well as to men. Under this seal all the judgments of God on Rome Pagan meet together; and it is observable that Maximinus, a Roman emperor, and one of the last of the Pagans, boasted, that for worshipping of the gods, and persecuting Of the Christians, neither pestilence, famine, nor war, were in his times, when on a sudden all these three came together at once ^x; to which may be added the following observation, that though the several steps and methods which God took to punish, weaken, and destroy the Roman Pagan empire, were remarkably seen in the distinct periods to which these first four seals belong, yet they must not be entirely restrained and limited to these periods, as if they were not made use of in others; so though the Gospel proceeded with remarkable success under the first seal, in the times of the apostles, to the subduing of multitudes in the Roman empire, it was also preached with great success under the following seals; and though there were most grievous wars under the second seal, in the times of Trajan and Adrian, so there were also in after times; that was not the only period of war, though it was remarkably so; likewise there was a famine in the times of Claudius, under the first seal, Act 11:28; and in the time of Trajan, under the second seal ^y, and of Commodus ^z as well as under the third; and there were pestilences also in those times, as well as under the fourth seal; and because God did by each of these weaken, break, and at last bring to ruin that empire, they are showed to John one after another.

Gill: Rev 6:9

And when he had opened the fifth seal,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; here is no beast speaking here, nor horse and rider presented to view; it was now a very dark time both with respect to the church of God and ministry of the word, and the Roman empire. This seal refers to the times of Dioclesian, and the persecution under him; and instead of the voice of one of the living creatures, John hears the voice of martyrs:

I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain; these include not only all the martyrs that were put to death in the persecution of Dioclesian, but all those that suffered in all the persecutions preceding; for this, being the last, involves them all. "Souls", being immaterial and incorporeal, are invisible to the bodily eye; these therefore were either clothed with corporeal forms, as angels sometimes are, or rather John saw them in a visionary way, as he saw the angels: and these were the souls of such as "were slain"; their bodies were dead, but their souls were alive; which shows the immortality of souls, and that they die not with their bodies, and that they live after them in a separate state: נשמתין דקטולי, "the souls of them that are slain", is a phrase used by Jewish writers ^a, and who have a notion that the souls of those that are slain are kept in certain palaces, under the care of one appointed by God ^b: and these were seen "under the altar"; either this is said in allusion to the blood of the sacrifices, which was poured out at the bottom of the altar, Lev 4:7, in which the life and soul of the creature is; or because that martyrdom is a sacrifice of men's lives, and an offering of them in the cause of God and truth, Phi 2:17; or with some reference to a common notion of the Jews, that the souls of the righteous are treasured up under the throne of glory ^c they have also a saying, everyone that is buried in the land of Israel is as if he was buried "under the altar" ^d; for they think that being buried there expiates their sins ^e; to which they add, that whoever is buried "under the altar", is as if he was buried under the throne of glory ^f; yea, they talk of an altar above, upon which Michael the high priest causes the souls of the righteous to ascend ^g. Christ may be meant by the altar here, as he is in Heb 13:10, who is both altar, sacrifice, and priest, and is the altar that sanctifies the gift, and from off which every sacrifice of prayer and praise comes up with acceptance before God; and the souls of the martyrs being under this altar, denotes their being in the presence of Christ, and enjoying communion with him, and being in his hands, into whose hands they commit their souls at death, as Stephen did, and being under his care and protection until the resurrection morn, when they shall be reunited to their bodies which sleep in Jesus: and they were slain

for the word of God; both for the essential Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose faith they professed; and for the written word, they made the rule of their faith and practice, and which Dioclesian forbid the reading of, and sought utterly to destroy; and for the Gospel principally, which is contained in it:

and for the testimony which they held; the Syriac and Arabic versions read, "for the testimony of the Lamb"; and so the Complutensian edition; either for the Gospel, which is a testimony of the person, office, and grace of Christ, the Lamb, which they embraced, professed, and held fast; or for the witness they bore to him, and the profession which they made thereof, and in which they continued.

Gill: Rev 6:10

And they cried with a loud voice,.... With great ardour and fervency, being very pressing and importunate; and which shows that they were awake, and not asleep, and that the soul does not sleep with the body in the grave, or is after the death of that in a state of insensibility and inactivity, as some imagine:

saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true; the person they address is either the Lamb in the midst of the throne, with whom they were, and under the shelter of whom they were safe and happy; or God the Father, who sat upon the throne, whom they call "holy", because being so in his nature, and as appears in all his works, he could not but hate, and so revenge the evil that was done to them by their cruel persecutors; and whereas he is "true" to all his threatenings, as well as his promises, and faithful to every word of his, they doubted not but he would judge and avenge them of their enemies; but they seem desirous to know how long it would be first: saying,

dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? the men of the world, idolatrous persons, earthly princes, who had shed their blood; and which they desire not out of any sinful or malicious affection, but that the holiness and justice of God might appear, and also his truth and faithfulness in his promises to them, and threatenings to his enemies; and that God in all things might be glorified, and his church and people on earth might be supported and delivered; see Job 24:12.

Gill: Rev 6:11

And white robes were given to everyone of them,.... The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read in the singular number, "a white robe", and so does the Syriac version; as a token of their innocence, that they did not suffer, or were slain, for any capital crime or immorality they were guilty of; and of their purity and perfection they now enjoyed; as also of that spiritual delight and pleasure, which was unspeakable and full of glory, they now had in the presence of God and Christ; and in short, of that happiness and glory which souls in a separate state, before the resurrection morn, are partakers of; who besides the righteousness of Christ, comparable to fine linen clean and white, walk with Christ in white, in the shining robes of bliss and glory:

and it was said unto them, that they should rest; or have rest; eternal rest from all their toil and labour, from all their sorrows and sufferings of every kind, which rest remains for the people of God, and into which these were now entered; or that they should cease from expostulating and inquiring after the above manner, and rest satisfied and contented, exercising the graces of faith, hope, and patience, believing, looking, and waiting:

yet for a little season; either until the end of this persecution by Dioclesian, when vengeance would be taken of the Roman empire, and it would be no more as Pagan; or until the day of judgment, when full vengeance will be inflicted on the persecutors of the saints; and which is but a little while with God, with whom a thousand years is as one day, and in comparison of that eternity of blessedness glorified saints are partakers of:

until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled; meaning either the rest of the saints that should suffer martyrdom in the: following part of this persecution; or those who should suffer under the Arian persecution, when the empire would become Christian; or under Rome Papal, and in all the persecutions of the apostasy, unto the end of that state: these are called "fellow servants" and "brethren" of the saints in heaven; for they all worship and serve the same God, and belong to the same family, in heaven and in earth; and the selfsame reason that is made use of to animate the saints below to courage, faith, and patience in suffering, 1Pe 5:9, is used to keep up the expectation of the saints in heaven, of that vengeance that will be executed on their enemies, and to point out the time when it will be; and it may be observed, that the number of martyrs, or of those that shall suffer and die in the cause of Christ, and for his Gospel, is fixed and determined by God; and that number shall be perfected and completed, and when that is done, he will pour out all his wrath on them that have persecuted them and put them to death: and so the Arabic version renders it, "that the number of their companions and brethren, and of those who are to be killed as they have been killed, is fulfilled"; In the Apocrypha is written:

"39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord. 40 Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord. 41 The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed.'' (2 Esdras 2)

Now though this seal does not introduce any judgment to be executed on the Roman empire, as the others do; yet since it introduces all the martyrs with one united voice requiring vengeance on their blood, it may very well be considered as a step towards, and as making way for, the utter ruin of that empire: and which the next seal being opened brings on, and is a full answer to the cry of these souls.

Gill: Rev 6:12

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal,.... Of the sealed book which the Lamb took out of the hand of him that sat upon the throne, in order to open it, and unloose its seals. About this seal interpreters much differ; some refer this to the destruction of Jerusalem, because of the likeness of expressions here used, and in Mat 24:7; but this was past many years before this seal was opened; and besides, though that time was a day of wrath to the uttermost upon the Jewish people, and it was the Lamb's day of wrath, taking vengeance on them for their unbelief and rejection of him as the Messiah; yet they had no sense of the Lamb, nor any apprehension of his wrath at that time, nor have they now, but imputed their calamity to their divisions and quarrels among themselves. Others think this seal belongs to the destruction of the Roman empire by the Goths, Huns, Vandals, &c. but it should be observed, that the empire stood some hundreds of years after the end of the fifth seal and the opening of this; and it was after the seventh seal, and at the sounding of the trumpets, that that destruction came on; moreover, that calamity was by the savageness of some barbarous nations which overrun the empire, but this here spoken of comes from the wrath of the Lamb; add to which, that that calamity distressed the Christians in the empire, and them chiefly, whereas this falls only upon the enemies of the Lamb, and the persecutors of his people. Others are of opinion that this has respect to the strange change of affairs in the church of Christ, through the rise, power, and tyranny of antichrist; by "the earthquake" they suppose is meant the shaking of both church and state by the man of sin; who shook the doctrines, ordinances, and discipline of the church, and threw all into confusion, and introduced a new face of things; and also shook the kingdoms of the earth, and the thrones and crowns of princes: by the "sun" becoming "black", they think is meant the sun of righteousness, Jesus Christ, who was obscured in the doctrines concerning him, as the one and only Mediator, and justification by his righteousness, and pardon through his blood, by introducing the mediation of angels and saints, the doctrine of justification by works, and the doctrine of merit, works of supererogation, indulgences, pardons, penance, and purgatory: by the "moon" they understand the church, which receives all its light, grace, righteousness, and holiness, from Christ, and which, like the moon, is changeable as to its outward form and circumstances; and this became "as blood", through the persecutions, massacres, and cruelties of the Romish antichrist, who has been made drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus: the "stars" they take to be the ministers of the word; either hypocritical ones, who were like unripe figs, destitute of true grace, and so were easily shaken with the wind of Papal power, and fell into the earth, and apostatized from the faith, and conformed to the corruptions of antichrist; or the true ministers of the Gospel, who were put to death, and that to an untimely and violent one, signified by the shaking of untimely figs by a mighty wind: by the "heaven" departing as a scroll rolled up, they suppose is designed either the church, which fled into the wilderness, and remained invisible during the Papal power and cruelty; or else the Scriptures, which the pope made himself sole judge and interpreter of and shut up from the common people in an unknown language, and forbid the laity the reading of them: by "mountains" they think are intended the kings and princes of the earth, who were obliged to submit to the Romish antichrist, and give their kingdoms to him, and receive their crowns and kingdoms from him, and be his vassals: and by "the islands", the people their subjects, who were forced to acknowledge him as the supreme head, and receive his mark in their right hand or forehead, or they could not buy and sell: and by all ranks and degrees of men, as "kings", &c. hiding themselves in rocks and mountains, and calling upon them to fall on them and cover them, they apply either to their invoking the virgin Mary, and other saints, to intercede for them, and screen them from the wrath of God and Christ, on account of their sins; or else to the persecutors of the saints, of every rank and in every age, and to the punishments that shall fall upon them. But however feasible this interpretation may seem to be, it is certain that this was not the face of things at the close of the fifth seal, or the Dioclesian persecution, and at the opening of the sixth, when Constantine came to the imperial throne, for then the church appeared as she is described in Rev 12:1; which is just the reverse of this. There are others, who because of the very awful things here spoken of, and the very awful language in which they are expressed, conclude that this seal respects the day of judgment; not considering that the fifth seal ends about the year 313, at the close of the last of the ten persecutions, and that the sixth seal begins where that ends; and though above 1750 years have elapsed since that time, yet the day of judgment is not come, and we know not when it will; besides, here is another seal, a seventh seal, which follows, and introduces punishments on the Roman empire, and seven vials follow, which pour out plagues upon antichrist, all which can never be thought to be after the day of judgment; moreover, the account of the day of judgment stands in its proper place in Rev 20:12; after the destruction of Babylon, the first resurrection, and the saints' thousand years' reign with Christ. But to proceed; the business which is the subject of this seal is the removing of Paganism, and Pagan governors out of the Roman empire; this was the thing the rider upon the white horse, under the first seal, set out upon to effect, and never ceased until he had accomplished it; and this is what ensued upon the close of the fifth seal, when Pagan persecution ceased, on Constantine, a Christian emperor, having the reins of power in his hands; and it cannot be thought, that so wonderful a change of things as this should be omitted in this prophetic history; and it is easy to observe that changes in kingdoms and governments, both as to the polity and religion of them, are sometimes expressed in such like figurative terms as here; see Isa 13:9; and which may be accommodated to this event as follows:

and, lo, there was a great earthquake; or "shaking", both of the heavens and earth, and which, as it denotes in Hag 2:6; compared with Heb 12:26; the removing of Jewish worship and ordinances, in order to make way for the Christian ordinances and institutions, which were to remain; so here it intends the removing of Pagan worship and idolatry, and of Pagan magistrates, that the Christian religion and Christian magistrates might take place. This, with what follows, concerning the darkness of the sun and moon, might be literally true; and it seems by historians, that there were such phenomena about those times; for it is asserted ^h, that a very great earthquake in Syria followed the Dioclesian persecution, which shook and caused to fall the tops of houses at Tyre and Sidon, and killed many thousands; and some such like happened at Rome, and at Spoletum, where above three hundred and fifty Pagans perished, as they were serving their idols. It is also observed ⁱ, that the moon was turned into blood in the times of Galerius, who succeeded. Dioclesian; and that the sun failed, and the stars shined for four hours, when Licinius was conquered by Constantine; but then these may be considered as symbols of the change in the empire.

And the sun came black as sackcloth of hair; which is made of black hairs; see Isa 50:3; as when eclipsed. The sun was the chief deity worshipped by the Heathens, under various names, and this becoming black, may design the removing of their principal gods from their honour and glory, or the downfall of idolatry, which the Jews ^k call שמשה של עבודה זרה, "the sun of idolatry", which they suppose is meant in Son 1:6. And Satan, the god of this world, who was worshipped in different forms, now fell, as Lucifer, the son of the morning, and as lightning from heaven, and was cast down from all his dignity, influence, and power, to the earth; for the casting out of the red dragon, the old serpent, and Satan, after his combat with Michael and his angels, in Rev 12:3, refers to this very time; likewise the chief magistrate, the Heathen Roman emperor, may be included; and it is remarkable, that Dioclesian the emperor, who had now retired from the imperial government, and was under a cloud, under disgrace, and in distress, had, in the zenith of his glory, caused himself to be worshipped as a god, and as the brother of the sun and moon.

And the moon became as blood; as when obscured; the Alexandrian copy and some others, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, "the whole moon"; this may design the next Heathen deity, or class of deities, for the moon was also worshipped by the Heathens under different names; and may likewise include the Pagan priesthood, which was next, and was annexed to the imperial dignity; and which was disused by, Constantine and his successors; and even the very title, and the robe which was a symbol of it, were laid aside as unworthy of Christian princes; see Mede upon the place.

Gill: Rev 6:13

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth,.... All the other inferior deities lost their esteem, worship, and honour; for the idol temples being now opened, the idols and statues were exposed to the common people, and were found to be stuffed with hay and straw, which brought them into great contempt ^l. Moreover, as stars sometimes signify the ministers of the Gospel in the Christian church, Rev 1:20, and sometimes the priests in the Jewish church, Dan 8:10; so they may here likewise include the idolatrous priests among the Heathens, who were discharged and removed by Constantine, and had their posts and profits taken away from them; yea, Maximinus, an Heathen emperor, or tyrant, being beaten by Licinius, who was then Constantine's colleague, killed many of the priests and prophets of his gods, which were formerly had in great admiration by him, as deceivers and betrayers of him, by whose oracles he was animated to the war ^m. And in like manner Licinius put to death the priests and prophets of the new idol at Antioch ⁿ.

Even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind; which figs being young and green, and not fixed, fall off easily, and in great numbers, when a blustering wind beats upon them; and so the rabble of Pagan deities, and idolatrous priests, were easily, and in great numbers, removed through the power of Constantine, which carried all before it.

Gill: Rev 6:14

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together,.... The manner of writing formerly was on rolls of parchment; hence the word volume is used for a book, which, when rolled up, the writing within could not be seen, not a syllable nor letter of it. In like manner the Roman empire, as Pagan, which was like a large sheet, or rather like the expanse or firmament of the heaven, stretched out over all the earth, was now, as to the Paganism of it, rolled up together, so that there were no more Heathen gods, nor Heathen priests; no more idolatry, and idolatrous worship of that kind were to be seen, and not so much as the names of Heathen gods to be heard of in the empire.

And every mountain and island were moved out of their places; by "every mountain" may be meant the places of idolatrous worship, which were usually upon mountains; see Jer 3:6; which were now shut up, or demolished, or used for Christian worship; and "every island" being moved also may show, that Paganism was not only rooted out of the provinces of the empire upon the continent, but out of the islands also; and the ecclesiastical history of these times informs us, that there were Christian churches in the isles, which enjoyed the Gospel free of persecution and distress; as in the isles of Cyprus, Crete, the Cyclades, Sardinia, Siciiy, Corsica, and in ours of England, Scotland, and Ireland ^o. Mr. Daubuz thinks, that as "mountains" design the temples of idols, "islands" signify the revenues of them, which were now taken away, and applied to other uses.

Gill: Rev 6:15

And the king's of the earth, and the great men,.... The Roman emperors, and other principal magistrates, governors of provinces and cities:

and the rich men; among the commonalty; these three may design perhaps more particularly the emperors, nobles, and senate of Rome: and

the chief captains; or captains of thousands, that had the command of the Roman legions

and the mighty men; the soldiers that were under them, men of strength, courage, and valour;

and every bondman, and every freeman; which takes in all the inhabitants of the Roman empire, of every state and condition, and which was an usual distinction among the Romans: these

hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; where, through their cruel persecutions, they had forced multitudes of Christians to flee, and therefore, "lex talionis", the law of retaliation was righteously inflicted on them; and not to take notice of any other, this was remarkably true of their kings or emperors Dioclesian and Herculius Maximianus, who were emperors together, in the height of their imperial glory and grandeur, the one being at Nicomedia, and the other at Milan, did, on one and the same day, of their own accord, abdicate the empire, and divested themselves of their imperial crown and government, and retired to a private life; pretending in public, that old age, and the weight of business, were the cause, but to their friends they owned, that it was through despair, because they could not extinguish the Christian religion ^p. Some ascribed this to frenzy and madness ^q; but the true reason was, that the wrath of the Lamb was let into their consciences, and which they could not bear, and which obliged them to take this step, to the amazement of the whole world. Maximinus, who succeeded them, being overcome by Licinius, laid aside his imperial habit, and hid himself among the common people, and skulked about in fields and villages ^r. Maxentius, another emperor, fled from Constantine, the instrument of the wrath of the Lamb, and the pouring it out upon his enemies, and fell into the river Tiber, from the Mylvian bridge, where he perished; and which was the very place in which he had laid snares for Constantine ^s.

Gill: Rev 6:16

And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us,.... They chose death rather than life. Dioclesian being invited by Constantine to a marriage feast, excused himself by reason of his old age; but receiving threatening letters, the historian ^t says, in which he was charged with having favoured Maxentius, and with favouring Maximinus, he poisoned himself; and others of the emperors are said to lay violent hands upon themselves:

and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; thus they owned the proper deity, and almighty power of God, and Christ, which they dreaded; so Maximinus being afflicted with a most horrible disease, of which he died, asked pardon of the God of the Christians, and owned that he suffered justly, for his reproaches of Christ ^u Licinius, who sometimes pretended to be a Christian, and joined with Constantine, but afterwards revolted and fought against him, being conquered and taken, was put to death; at which time he, and they that suffered death with him, confessed that the God of Constantine was the only true God ^w. This passage shows, that Christ, God's firstborn, is higher than the kings of the earth; yea, that he is equal with him that sits upon the throne, with God his Father, since his wrath is equally dreaded as his; and that, though he is a Lamb, mild, meek, and gentle, yet there is wrath, fury, and indignation in him, against his enemies, which is very dreadful and intolerable; see Psa 2:12.

Gill: Rev 6:17

For the great day of his wrath is come,.... The Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read, "of their wrath"; both of him that sits upon the throne, and of the Lamb, against the Heathen gods and Heathen persecutors, in answer to the cry of the martyrs in Rev 6:9.

And who shall be able to stand? against either of them, or in their presence, and so as to bear their wrath and displeasure; all which expresses guilt, shame, fear, and despair.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 6:1

¹ tn Grk “saying like a voice [or sound] of thunder.”

² tc The addition of “and see” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) to “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1, 3-5, 7 is a gloss directed to John, i.e., “come and look at the seals and the horsemen!” But the command ἔρχου is better interpreted as directed to each of the horsemen. The shorter reading also has the support of the better witnesses.

NET Notes: Rev 6:2

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of hearing the voice summon the first rider.

² tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) as mentioned in the text-critical note on 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

³ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁵ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

sn The one who rode it. The identity of the first rider on the white horse has been discussed at great length by interpreters. Several answers are given: (1) A number understand the rider on the white horse to be Christ himself, identifying this horse and rider with the one mentioned in 19:11, where the identification is clear (cf. 19:13, 16). It must be noted, though, that there is little in common between the two riders beyond the white horse. The word for “crown” is different, the armament is different, and the context here is different (conquest vs. retribution), with three other horsemen bringing catastrophe following. (2) Others see the rider on the white horse representing a spirit of military conquest that dominates human history and leads to the catastrophes that follow. (3) Another possibility is that the white horse rider represents the Antichrist, who appears later in Rev 11:7; 13:17, and whose similarity to Christ explains the similarity with the rider in 19:11. This interpretation has been discussed at length by M. Rissi, “The Rider on the White Horse: A Study of Revelation 6:1-8,” Int 18 (1964): 407-18. This interpretation is the most probable one.

⁶ sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

⁷ tn The participle νικῶν (nikwn) has been translated as substantival, the subject of the verb ἐξῆλθεν (exhlqen). Otherwise, as an adverbial participle of manner, it is somewhat redundant: “he rode out conquering and to conquer.”

NET Notes: Rev 6:3

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the Lamb) has been specified in the translation for clarity here and throughout the rest of the chapter.

NET Notes: Rev 6:4

¹ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

² tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

³ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “it was given to him to take peace from the earth.”

⁴ tn BDAG 979 s.v. σφάζω states, “Of the killing of a person by violence…σφάζειν τινά butcher or murder someone (4 Km 10:7; Jer 52:10; Manetho: 609 fgm. 8, 76 Jac. [in Jos., C. Ap. 1, 76]; Demetr.[?]: 722 fgm. 7; Ar. 10, 9) 1J 3:12; Rv 6:4. Pass. (Hdt. 5, 5) 5:9; 6:9; 18:24.”

NET Notes: Rev 6:5

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the third creature.

³ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

⁴ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

⁷ sn A balance scale would have been a rod held by a rope in the middle with pans attached to both ends for measuring.

NET Notes: Rev 6:6

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn BDAG 1086 s.v. χοῖνιξ states, “a dry measure, oft. used for grain, approximately equivalent to one quart or one liter, quart. A χ.of grain was a daily ration for one pers.…Rv 6:6ab.”

³ tn Grk “a quart of wheat for a denarius.” A denarius was one day’s pay for an average worker. The words “will cost” are used to indicate the genitive of price or value; otherwise the English reader could understand the phrase to mean “a quart of wheat to be given as a day’s pay.”

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

NET Notes: Rev 6:7

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

NET Notes: Rev 6:8

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the fourth creature.

² tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

³ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

⁴ tn A sickly pallor, when referring to persons, or the green color of plants. BDAG 1085 s.v. χλωρός 2 states, “pale, greenish gray…as the color of a pers. in sickness contrasted with appearance in health…so the horse ridden by Death…ἵππος χλωρός Rv 6:8.” Because the color of the horse is symbolic, “pale green” is used in the translation. Cf. NIV, NCV “pale”; NASB “ashen.”

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

⁷ tn Grk “And Hades was following with him.” The Greek expression μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ (met’ autou, “with him”) is Semitic and indicates close proximity. The translation “followed right behind” reflects this.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁰ tn Grk “with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

NET Notes: Rev 6:9

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new and somewhat different topic after the introduction of the four riders.

² tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.

NET Notes: Rev 6:10

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

³ tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.

⁴ tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).

NET Notes: Rev 6:11

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “until they had been completed.” The idea of a certain “number” of people is implied by the subject of πληρωθῶσιν (plhrwqwsin).

³ tn Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) has been translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

NET Notes: Rev 6:12

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn Or “powerful”; Grk “a great.”

³ tn Or “like hairy sackcloth” (L&N 8.13).

⁴ tn Grk “like blood,” understanding αἷμα (aima) as a blood-red color rather than actual blood (L&N 8.64).

NET Notes: Rev 6:13

¹ tn Or “in heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”). The genitive τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (tou ouranou) is taken as a genitive of place.

² tn Grk “throws [off]”; the indicative verb has been translated as a participle due to English style.

³ tn L&N 3.37 states, “a fig produced late in the summer season (and often falling off before it ripens) – ‘late fig.’ ὡς συκὴ βάλλει τοὺς ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου μεγάλου σειομένη ‘as the fig tree sheds its late figs when shaken by a great wind’ Re 6:13. In the only context in which ὄλυνθος occurs in the NT (Re 6:13), one may employ an expression such as ‘unripe fig’ or ‘fig which ripens late.’”

⁴ tn Grk “great wind.”

NET Notes: Rev 6:14

¹ tn Or “The heavens were.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) can mean either “heaven” or “sky.”

² tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀποχωρίζω states, “ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπεχωρίσθη the sky was split Rv 6:14.” Although L&N 79.120 gives the meaning “the sky disappeared like a rolled-up scroll” here, a scroll that is rolled up does not “disappear,” and such a translation could be difficult for modern readers to understand.

³ tn On this term BDAG 317 s.v. ἑλίσσω states, “ὡς βιβλίον ἑλισσόμενον like a scroll that is rolled up…Rv 6:14.”

NET Notes: Rev 6:15

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated; nor is it translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

³ tn Grk “chiliarchs.” A chiliarch was normally a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).

⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

NET Notes: Rev 6:16

¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn It is difficult to say where this quotation ends. The translation ends it after “withstand it” at the end of v. 17, but it is possible that it should end here, after “Lamb” at the end of v. 16. If it ends after “Lamb,” v. 17 is a parenthetical explanation by the author.

NET Notes: Rev 6:17

¹ tc Most mss (A Ï bo) change the pronoun “their” to “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou) in order to bring the text in line with the mention of the one seated on the throne in the immediately preceding verse, and to remove the ambiguity about whose wrath is in view here. The reading αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”) is well supported by א C 1611 1854 2053 2329 2344 pc latt sy. On both internal and external grounds, it should be regarded as original.

² tn The translation “to withstand (it)” for ἵστημι (Jisthmi) is based on the imagery of holding one’s ground in a military campaign or an attack (BDAG 482 s.v. B.4).

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:1

And ^{( 1 )} 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.

^{( 1 )} This is the second part of this first history (which I said was common and of the whole world) of the works of God in the government of all things. There are generally three parts to this: the forewarning, the caution, and the execution of all the evils which God sends on this world, which was scarcely postponed by him. The forewarning is set down in this chapter, the caution for preserving the Church is in the next chapter, and the execution is described in (Rev 8:9) In each part of the forewarning, there are three points: the distinct and express calling of John to prepare himself to take knowledge of the things that are to be showed to him in the opening of the seals, the sign, and the word expounding the sign. Though the express calling of John is used in only four of the signs, yet the same is also to be understood in the rest that follow. The author of the forewarnings is the Lamb as that word of the Father made the Mediator, opening the seals of the book. The instruments are the angels in most of the visions, who explain the sign and the words of it. Now this first verse contains an express calling of John to record the opening of the first seal.

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:2

And ^{( 2 )} 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.

^{( 2 )} The first sign, joined with a declaration, is that because of the sins and horrible rebellion of the world, God will invade the world: and first of all will suddenly, mightily, and gloriously, as if with arrows of pestilence from a distance, beat down the same as Judge, and triumph over it as conqueror.

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:3

And ^{( 3 )} when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

^{( 3 )} The second sign joined with words of declaration (after the express calling of John as before) is, that God being provoked to wrath by the obstinacy and hard heartedness of the world, not repenting for the former plague: as setting on the same at hand, will cause disputes among men, and will destroy the inhabitants of this world, by the swords of one another.

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:5

^{( 4 )} 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.

^{( 4 )} The third sign with declaration is that God will destroy the world with famine, removing all food: which is by Synecdoche comprehended in wheat, barley, wine and oil.

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A ^{( a )} measure of wheat for a penny, ^{( 5 )} and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

^{( a )} It is here signified how little grain there was, for the word used here is a unit of measure for dry things, about an eighth of a bushel, which was a typical daily ration given to servants. ^{( 5 )} I would rather interpret and read the words this way, "And the wine and the oil you will not distribute unjustly." In this sense likewise the wine and the oil will be sold a very little for a penny. You will not distribute unjustly, namely, when you measure out a very little for a great price: so are the times evident: otherwise it would be true, as the wise man says, that whoever withholds the grain will be cursed by the people; (Pro 11:26).

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:7

^{( 6 )} And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

^{( 6 )} The fourth sign joined with words of declaration is, that God will devote a quarter of the world to death and hell, or the grave, by all those methods at once, who individually and in order he had summoned to change their minds. To these are also added the wild and cruel beasts of the earth (Lev 16:22). Thus according to his wisdom, God dispenses the treasures of his power, justly towards all, mercifully towards the good, and with patience or longsuffering towards his enemies.

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:9

^{( 7 )} 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:

^{( 7 )} The sixth sign is that the holy martyrs who are under the altar, by which they are sanctified, that is, received into the trust and teaching of Christ (into whose hands they are committed) shall cry out for the justice of God, in a holy zeal to advance his kingdom, and not from any private disturbance of the mind, in this and the next verse, and that God will comfort them in deed, sign and word; (Rev 6:10).

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:11

And ^{( 8 )} 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 ^{( b )} fulfilled.

^{( 8 )} As before (Rev 3:4).

^{( b )} Until their number is completed

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:12

^{( 9 )} And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as ^{( c )} sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

^{( 9 )} The sixth sign, a narration, has two parts: the sign and the event. The sign is that the earth, heaven, and the things that are in them, for the horror of the sins of the world after those most heavy warnings from God, and complaints of the saints shall be shaken most severely, trembling in horrible manner, and losing their light, in this verse: things falling from heaven (Rev 6:13) withdrawing themselves and fleeing from the greatness of the trouble (Rev 6:14). So completely do all creatures depend on the will of God, and content themselves in his glory.

^{( c )} So they called in old time those woven works that were of hair.

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:15

^{( 10 )} 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;

^{( 10 )} The event of the sign before: that there is no man who will not be amazed at that worldwide upheaval, fly away in fear and hide himself in this verse, and wish to die, because of the exceeding horror of the wrath of God, and of the Lamb, at which before he was amazed. Now this confusion is not on the part of the godly but of the wicked, whose portion is in this life; (Psa 17:14). Not that sorrow which is according to God, which works repentance to salvation, of which a man shall never repent him, but that worldly sorrow that brings death; (2Co 7:9) as their wishes declare: for this history of the whole world, is separated from the history of the Church, as I have showed before. See Rev 4:1

Geneva Bible: Rev 6:16

And said to the mountains and rocks, ^{( 11 )} Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

^{( 11 )} These are words of those who despair of escape: of the cause of this despair there are two arguments, the presence of God and the Lamb provoked to wrath against the world, in this verse: and the awareness of their own weakness, feeling that they are not able to survive the day of the wrath of God (Rev 6:17) as it is said in (Isa 14:27).

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Rev 6:1-17

1 The opening of the seals in order, and what followed thereupon, containing a prophecy to the end of the world.

MHCC: Rev 6:1-8

Christ, the Lamb, opens the first seal: observe what appeared. A rider on a white horse. By the going forth of this white horse, a time of peace, or the early progress of the Christian religion, seems to be intended; its going forth in purity, at the time when its heavenly Founder sent his apostles to teach all nations, adding, Lo! I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. The Divine religion goes out crowned, having the Divine favour resting upon it, armed spiritually against its foes, and destined to be victorious in the end. On opening the second seal, a red horse appeared; this signifies desolating judgments. The sword of war and persecution is a dreadful judgment; it takes away peace from the earth, one of the greatest blessings; and men who should love one another, and help one another, are set upon killing one another. Such scenes also followed the pure age of early Christianity, when, neglectful of charity and the bond of peace, the Christian leaders, divided among themselves, appealed to the sword, and entangled themselves in guilt. On opening the third seal, a black horse appeared; a colour denoting mourning and woe, darkness and ignorance. He that sat on it had a yoke in his hand. Attempts were made to put a yoke of superstitious observances on the disciples. As the stream of Christianity flowed further from its pure fountain, it became more and more corrupt. During the progress of this black horse, the necessaries of life should be at excessive prices, and the more costly things should not be hurt. According to prophetic language, these articles signified that food of religious knowledge, by which the souls of men are sustained unto everlasting life; such we are invited to buy, Isa 55:1. But when the dark clouds of ignorance and superstition, denoted by the black horse, spread over the Christian world, the knowledge and practice of true religion became scarce. When a people loathe their spiritual food, God may justly deprive them of their daily bread. The famine of bread is a terrible judgment; but the famine of the word is more so. Upon opening the fourth seal, another horse appeared, of a pale colour. The rider was Death, the king of terrors. The attendants, or followers of this king of terrors, hell, a state of eternal misery to all who die in their sins; and in times of general destruction, multitudes go down unprepared into the pit. The period of the fourth seal is one of great slaughter and devastation, destroying whatever may tend to make life happy, making ravages on the spiritual lives of men. Thus the mystery of iniquity was completed, and its power extended both over the lives and consciences of men. The exact times of these four seals cannot be ascertained, for the changes were gradual. God gave them power, that is, those instruments of his anger, or those judgments: all public calamities are at his command; they only go forth when God sends them, and no further than he permits.

MHCC: Rev 6:9-11

The sight the apostle beheld at the opening the fifth seal was very affecting. He saw the souls of the martyrs under the altar; at the foot of the altar in heaven, at the feet of Christ. Persecutors can only kill the body; after that there is no more they can do; the soul lives. God has provided a good place in the better world, for those who are faithful unto death. It is not their own death, but the sacrifice of Christ, that gives them entrance into heaven. The cause in which they suffered, was for the word of God; the best any man can lay down his life for; faith in God's word, and the unshaken confession of that faith. They commit their cause to Him to whom vengeance belongs. The Lord is the comforter of his afflicted servants, and precious is their blood in his sight. As the measure of the sin of persecutors is filling up, so is the number of the persecuted, martyred servants of Christ. When this is fulfilled, God will send tribulation to those who trouble them, and unbroken happiness and rest to those that are troubled.

MHCC: Rev 6:12-17

When the sixth seal was opened, there was a great earthquake. The foundations of churches and states would be terribly shaken. Such bold figurative descriptions of great changes abound in the prophecies of Scripture; for these events are emblems, and declare the end of the world and the day of judgment. Dread and terror would seize on all sorts of men. Neither grandeur, riches, valour, nor strength, can support men at that time. They would be glad to be no more seen; yea, to have no longer any being. Though Christ be a Lamb, he can be angry, and the wrath of the Lamb is exceedingly dreadful; for if the Redeemer himself, who appeases the wrath of God, be our enemy, where shall we find a friend to plead for us? As men have their day of opportunity, and their seasons of grace, so God has his day of righteous wrath. It seems that the overthrow of the paganism of the Roman empire is here meant. The idolaters are described as hiding themselves in their dens and secret caves, and vainly seeking to escape ruin. In such a day, when the signs of the times show those who believe in God's word, that the King of kings is approaching, Christians are called to a decided course, and to a bold confession of Christ and his truth before their fellowmen. Whatever they may have to endure, the short contempt of man is to be borne, rather than that shame which is everlasting.

Matthew Henry: Rev 6:1-2

Here, 1. Christ, the Lamb, opens the first seal; he now enters upon the great work of opening and accomplishing the purposes of God towards the church and the world. 2. One of the ministers of the church calls upon the apostle, with a voice like thunder, to come near, and observe what then appeared. 3. We have the vision itself, Rev 6:2. (1.) The Lord Jesus appears riding on a white horse. White horses are generally refused in war, because they make the rider a mark for the enemy; but our Lord Redeemer was sure of the victory and a glorious triumph, and he rides on the white horse of a pure but despised gospel, with great swiftness through the world. (2.) He had a bow in his hand. The convictions impressed by the word of God are sharp arrows, they reach at a distance; and, though the ministers of the word draw the bow at a venture, God can and will direct it to the joints of the harness. This bow, in the hand of Christ, abides in strength, and, like that of Jonathan, never returns empty. (3.) A crown was given him, importing that all who receive the gospel must receive Christ as a king, and must be his loyal and obedient subjects; he will be glorified in the success of the gospel. When Christ was going to war, one would think a helmet had been more proper than a crown; but a crown is given him as the earnest and emblem of victory. (4.) He went forth conquering, and to conquer. As long as the church continues militant Christ will be conquering; when he has conquered his enemies in one age he meets with new ones in another age; men go on opposing, and Christ goes on conquering, and his former victories are pledges of future victories. He conquers his enemies in his people; their sins are their enemies and his enemies; when Christ comes with power into their soul he begins to conquer these enemies, and he goes on conquering, in the progressive work of sanctification, till he has gained us a complete victory. And he conquers his enemies in the world, wicked men, some by bringing them to his foot, others by making them his footstool. Observe, From this seal opened, [1.] The successful progress of the gospel of Christ in the world is a glorious sight, worth beholding, the most pleasant and welcome sight that a good man can see in this world. [2.] Whatever convulsions and revolutions happen in the states and kingdoms of the world, the kingdom of Christ shall be established and enlarged in spite of all opposition. [3.] A morning of opportunity usually goes before a night of calamity; the gospel is preached before the plagues are poured forth. [4.] Christ's work is not all done at once. We are ready to think, when the gospel goes forth, it should carry all the world before it, but it often meets with opposition, and moves slowly; however, Christ will do his own work effectually, in his own time and way.

Matthew Henry: Rev 6:3-8

The next three seals give us a sad prospect of great and desolating judgments with which God punishes those who either refuse or abuse the everlasting gospel. Though some understand them of the persecutions that befell the church of Christ, and others of the destruction of the Jews, they rather seem more generally to represent God's terrible judgments, by which he avenges the quarrel of his covenant upon those who make light of it.

I. Upon opening the second seal, to which John was called to attend, another horse appears, of a different colour from the former, a red horse, Rev 6:4. This signifies the desolating judgment of war; he that sat upon this red horse had power to take peace from the earth, and that the inhabitants of the earth should kill one another. Who this was that sat upon the red horse, whether Christ himself, as Lord of hosts, or the instruments that he raised up to conduct the war, is not clear; but this is certain, 1. That those who will not submit to the bow of the gospel must expect to be cut in sunder by the sword of divine justice. 2. That Jesus Christ rules and commands, not only in the kingdom of grace, but of providence. And, 3. That the sword of war is a dreadful judgment; it takes away peace from the earth, one of the greatest blessings, and it puts men upon killing one another. Men, who should love one another and help one another, are, in a state of war, set upon killing one another.

II. Upon opening the third seal, which John was directed to observe, another horse appears, different from the former, a black horse, signifying famine, that terrible judgment; and he that sat on the horse had a pair of balances in his hand (Rev 6:5), signifying that men must now eat their bread by weight, as was threatened (Lev 26:26), They shall deliver your bread to you by weight. That which follows in Rev 6:6, of the voice that cried, 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, has made some expositors think this was not a vision of famine, but of plenty; but if we consider the quantity of their measure, and the value of their penny, at the time of this prophecy, the objection will be removed; their measure was but a single quart, and their penny was our sevenpence-halfpenny, and that is a large sum to give for a quart of wheat. However, it seems this famine, as all others, fell most severely upon the poor; whereas the oil and the wine, which were dainties of the rich, were not hurt; but if bread, the staff of life, be broken, dainties will not supply the place of it. Here observe, 1. When a people loathe their spiritual food, God may justly deprive them of their daily bread. 2. One judgment seldom comes alone; the judgment of war naturally draws after it that of famine; and those who will not humble themselves under one judgment must expect another and yet greater, for when God contends he will prevail. The famine of bread is a terrible judgment; but the famine of the word is more so, though careless sinners are not sensible of it.

III. Upon opening the fourth seal, which John is commanded to observe, there appears another horse, of a pale colour. Here observe, 1. The name of the rider - Death, the king of terrors; the pestilence, which is death in its empire, death reigning over a place or nation, death on horseback, marching about, and making fresh conquests every hour. 2. The attendants or followers of this king of terrors - hell, a state of eternal misery to all those who die in their sins; and, in times of such a general destruction, multitudes go down unprepared into the valley of destruction. It is an awful thought, and enough to make the whole world to tremble, that eternal damnation immediately follows upon the death of an impenitent sinner. Observe, (1.) There is a natural as well as judicial connection between one judgment and another: war is a wasting calamity, and draws scarcity and famine after it; and famine, not allowing men proper sustenance, and forcing them to take that which is unwholesome, often draws the pestilence after it. (2.) God's quiver is full of arrows; he is never at a loss for ways and means to punish a wicked people. (3.) In the book of God's counsels he has prepared judgments for scorners as well as mercy for returning sinners. (4.) In the book of the scriptures God has published threatenings against the wicked as well as promises to the righteous; and it is our duty to observe and believe the threatenings as well as the promises.

IV. After the opening of these seals of approaching judgments, and the distinct account of them, we have this general observation, that God gave power to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth, Rev 6:8. He gave them power, that is, those instruments of his anger, or those judgments themselves; he who holds the winds in his hand has all public calamities at his command, and they can only go when he sends them and no further than he permits. To the three great judgments of war, famine, and pestilence, is here added the beasts of the earth, another of God's sore judgments, mentioned Eze 14:21, and mentioned here the last, because, when a nation is depopulated by the sword, famine, and pestilence, the small remnant that continue in a waste and howling wilderness encourage the wild beasts to make head against them, and they become easy prey. Others, by the beasts of the field, understand brutish, cruel, savage men, who, having divested themselves of all humanity, delight to be the instruments of the destruction of others.

Matthew Henry: Rev 6:9-17

In the remaining part of this chapter we have the opening of the fifth and the sixth seals.

I. The fifth seal. Here is no mention made of any one who called the apostle to make his observation, probably because the decorum of the vision was to be observed, and each of the four living creatures had discharged its duty of a monitor before, or because the events here opened lay out of the sight, and beyond the time, of the present ministers of the church; or because it does not contain a new prophecy of any future events, but rather opens a spring of support and consolation to those who had been and still were under great tribulation for the sake of Christ and the gospel. Here observe,

1. The sight this apostle saw at the opening of the fifth seal; it was a very affecting sight (Rev 6:9): I saw under the altar the souls of those that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. He saw the souls of the martyrs. Here observe, (1.) Where he saw them - under the altar; at the foot of the altar of incense, in the most holy place; he saw them in heaven, at the foot of Christ. Hence note, [1.] Persecutors can only kill the body, and after that there is no more that they can do; their souls live. [2.] God has provided a good place in the better world for those who are faithful to death and are not allowed a place any longer on earth. [3.] Holy martyrs are very near to Christ in heaven, they have the highest place there. [4.] It is not their own death, but the sacrifice of Christ, that gives them a reception into heaven and a reward there; they do not wash their robes in their own blood, but in the blood of the Lamb. (2.) What was the cause in which they suffered - the word of God and the testimony which they held, for believing the word of God, and attesting or confessing the truth of it; this profession of their faith they held fast without wavering, even though they died for it. A noble cause, the best that any man can lay down his life for - faith in God's word and a confession of that faith.

2. The cry he heard; it was a loud cry, and contained a humble expostulation about the long delay of avenging justice against their enemies: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? Rev 6:10. Observe, (1.) Even the spirits of just men made perfect retain a proper resentment of the wrong they have sustained by their cruel enemies; and though they die in charity, praying, as Christ did, that God would forgive them, yet they are desirous that, for the honour of God, and Christ, and the gospel, and for the terror and conviction of others, God will take a just revenge upon the sin of persecution, even while he pardons and saves the persecutors. (2.) They commit their cause to him to whom vengeance belongeth, and leave it in his hand; they are not for avenging themselves, but leave all to God. (3.) There will be joy in heaven at the destruction of the implacable enemies of Christ and Christianity, as well as at the conversion of other sinners. When Babylon falls, it will be said, Rejoice over her, O thou heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her, Rev 18:20.

3. He observed the kind return that was made to this cry (Rev 6:11), both what was given to them and what was said to them. (1.) What was given to them - white robes, the robes of victory and of honour; their present happiness was an abundant recompence of their past sufferings. (2.) What was said to them - that they should be satisfied, and easy in themselves, for it would not be long ere the number of their fellow-sufferers would be fulfilled. This is a language rather suited to the imperfect state of the saints in this world than to the perfection of their state in heaven; there is no impatience, no uneasiness, no need of admonition; but in this world there is great need of patience. Observe, [1.] There is a number of Christians, known to God, who are appointed as sheep for the slaughter, set apart to be God's witnesses. [2.] As the measure of the sin of persecutors is filling up, so is the number of the persecuted martyred servants of Christ. [3.] When this number is fulfilled, God will take a just and glorious revenge upon their cruel persecutors; he will recompense tribulation to those who trouble them, and to those that are troubled full and uninterrupted rest.

II. We have here the sixth seal opened, Rev 6:12. Some refer this to the great revolutions in the empire at Constantine's time, the downfall of paganism; others, with great probability, to the destruction of Jerusalem, as an emblem of the general judgment, and destruction of the wicked, at the end of the world; and, indeed, the awful characters of this event are so much the same with those signs mentioned by our Saviour as foreboding the destruction of Jerusalem, as hardly to leave any room for doubting but that the same thing is meant in both places, though some think that event was past already. See Mat 24:29, Mat 24:30. Here observe,

1. The tremendous events that were hastening; and here are several occurrences that contribute to make that day and dispensation very dreadful: - (1.) There was a great earthquake. This may be taken in a political sense; the very foundations of the Jewish church and state would be terribly shaken, though they seemed to be as stable as the earth itself. (2.) The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, either naturally, by a total eclipse, or politically, by the fall of the chief rulers and governors of the land. (3.) The moon should become as blood; the inferior officers, or their military men, should be all wallowing in their own blood. (4.) The stars of heaven shall fall to the earth (Rev 6:13), and that as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. The stars may signify all the men of note and influence among them, though in lower spheres of activity; there should be a general desolation. (5.) The heaven should depart as a scroll when it is rolled together. This may signify that their ecclesiastical state should perish and be laid aside for ever. (6.) Every mountain and island shall be moved out of its place. The destruction of the Jewish nation should affect and affright all the nations round about, those who were highest in honour and those who seemed to be best secured; it would be a judgment that should astonish all the world. This leads to,

2. The dread and terror that would seize upon all sorts of men in that great and awful day, Rev 6:15. No authority, nor grandeur, nor riches, nor valour, nor strength, would be able to support men at that time; yea, the very poor slaves, who, one would think, had nothing to fear, because they had nothing to lose, would be all in amazement at that day. Here observe, (1.) The degree of their terror and astonishment: it should prevail so far as to make them, like distracted desperate men, call to the mountains to fall upon them, and to the hills to cover them; they would be glad to be no more seen; yea, to have no longer any being. (2.) The cause of their terror, namely, the angry countenance of him that sits on the throne, and the wrath of the Lamb. Observe, [1.] That which is matter of displeasure to Christ is so to God; they are so entirely one that what pleases or displeases the one pleases or displeases the other. [2.] Though God be invisible, he can make the inhabitants of this world sensible of his awful frowns. [3.] Though Christ be a lamb, yet he can be angry, even to wrath, and the wrath of the Lamb is exceedingly dreadful; for if the Redeemer, that appeases the wrath of God, himself be our wrathful enemy, where shall we have a friend to plead for us? Those perish without remedy who perish by the wrath of the Redeemer. [4.] As men have their day of opportunity, and their seasons of grace, so God has his day of righteous wrath; and, when that day shall come, the most stout-hearted sinners will not be able to stand before him: all these terrors actually fell upon the sinners in Judea and Jerusalem in the day of their destruction, and they will all, in the utmost degree, fall upon impenitent sinners, at the general judgment of the last day.

Barclay: Rev 6:1-2

As each of the seven seals is broken and opened, a new terror falls upon the earth. The first terror is depicted under the form of a white horse and its rider. What do they represent? Two explanations have been suggested, one of which is certainly wrong.

(i) It has been suggested that the rider on the white horse is the victorious Christ himself. This conclusion is drawn because this picture is connected by some commentators with that in Rev 19:11-12which tells of a white horse and on it a rider, called Faithful and True and crowned with many crowns, who is the victorious Christ. It is to be noted that the crown in this passage is different from that in Rev 19 . Here the crown is stephanos (4735), which is the victor's crown; in Rev 19 it is diadema (1238), which is the royal crown. The passage we are here studying is telling of woe upon woe and disaster upon disaster; any picture of the victorious Christ is quite out of place in it. This picture tells of the coming not of the victor Christ but of the terrors of the wrath of God.

(ii) Quite certainly, the white horse and its rider stand for conquest in war. When a Roman general celebrated a triumph, that is, when he paraded through the streets of Rome with his armies and his captives and his spoils after some great victory, his chariot was drawn by white horses, the symbol of victory.

But, as we said in the introduction to this passage, John is clothing his predictions of the future in pictures of the present which his readers would recognize. The rider of the horse had in his hand a bow. In the Old Testament the bow is always the sign of military power. In the final defeat of Babylon her mighty men are taken and their bows--that is, their military power--destroyed (Jer 51:56). God will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel (Hos 1:5). God breaks the bow and shatters the spear in sunder and burns the chariots with fire; that is, against him no human military power can stand (Psa 46:9). The bow, then, would always stand for military power. But there is one particular picture which the Romans and all who dwelt in Asia would at once recognize. The one enemy whom. the Romans feared was the Parthian power. The Parthians dwelt on the far eastern frontiers of the Empire and were the scourge of Rome. In A.D. 62 an unprecedented event had occurred; a Roman army had actually surrendered to Vologeses, the king of the Parthians. The Parthians rode white horses and were the most famous bowmen in the world. A "Parthian shot" still means a final, devastating blow, to which there is no possible answer.

So, then, the white horse and its rider with the bow stand for militarism and conquest.

Here is something which it has taken men long to learn. Military conquest has been presented as a thing of glamour; but it is always tragedy. When Euripides wished to depict warfare upon the stage, he did not bring on an army with banners. He brought on a bent and bewildered old woman leading by the hand a weeping child who had lost his parents. During the Spanish civil war a journalist told how he suddenly realized what war was. He was in a Spanish city in which the opposing parties were waging guerrilla warfare. He saw walking along the pavement a little boy, obviously lost, and bewildered and terrified, dragging along a toy which had lost its wheels. Suddenly there was the crack of a rifle shot; and the little boy pitched on the ground, dead. That is war. First among the tragic terrors of the terrible times John sets the white horse and the man with the bow, the vision of the tragedy of militaristic conquest.

Barclay: Rev 6:3-4

The function of the second horse and its rider is to take peace from the earth. They stand for that destructive strife which sets man against man and nation against nation in a chaos of tragic destruction. There are two backgrounds to this.

(i) John was writing in a time when internecine strife was tearing the world apart. In the thirty years before the reign of Herod the Great, 67 to 37 B.C., in Palestine alone no fewer than 100,000 men had perished in abortive revolutions. In A.D. 61 in Britain there had arisen the rebellion connected with the name of Queen Boadicea. The Romans crushed it, Boadicea committed suicide and 150,000 men perished.

(ii) In the Jewish pictures of the end time, an essential element is the complete disintegration of all human relationships. Brother will fight against brother, neighbour against neighbour, city will rise against city, and kingdom against kingdom (Isa 19:2). Every man's hand shall be against the hand of his neighbour (Zec 14:13). From dawn to sunset they will slay each other (Enoch 100:12). Friend shall war against friend; friends will attack one another suddenly (4Ezra 5:9; 4Ezra 6:24). Some of them shall fall in battle, and some of them shall perish in anguish, and some of them shall be destroyed by their own (2 Baruch 70:2-8). Many shall be stirred up in anger to injure many, and they shall rouse up all men in order to shed blood, and in the end they will all perish together (Bar 48:37).

The vision of the end was a vision of a time when all human relationships would be destroyed and the world a seething cauldron of embittered hate.

It is still true that the nation in which there is division between man and man and class and class and hatred based on competitive ambition and selfish desire is doomed; and the world in which nation is set against nation is hastening to its end.

Barclay: Rev 6:5-6

It will help us to understand the idea behind this passage if we remember that John is giving an account not of the end of things, but of the signs and events which precede the end. So here the black horse and its rider represent famine, a famine which is very severe and causes great hardship, but which is not desperate enough to kill. There is wheat--at a prohibitive price; and the wine and the oil are not affected.

The three main crops of Palestine were the corn, the wine and the oil; and it is these three which are always mentioned when the crops of the land are being described (Deu 7:13; Deu 11:14; Deu 28:51; Hos 2:8; Hos 2:22). The rider of the horse had the cross-beam of a balance in his hand. In the Old Testament the phrase to eat bread by weight indicates the greatest scarcity. In Leviticus it is the threat of God that, if the people are disobedient "they shall deliver your bread again by weight" (Lev 26:26). It is the threat of God to Ezekiel: "I will break the stall of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness" (Eze 4:16).

It was not entirely abnormal that there should be wine and oil when there was no corn. The olive and the vine were much more deeply-rooted than the corn; and they could stand a drought which would wipe out the corn crop. When Jacob had to send down to Egypt for corn in the days of the famine in the time of Joseph, he was still able to send with his sons a gift of "the choice fruits of the land" (Gen 43:11). But it is true that a situation in which wine and oil were plentiful and corn prohibitively dear would be the equivalent of one in which luxuries were plentiful and necessities scarce.

We can see the extent of the scarcity from the statement of the voice from amidst the four living creatures. A measure of wheat or three measures of barley was to cost a denarius. The measure was a choinix (5518), equivalent to two pints and consistently defined in the ancient world as a man's ration for a day. A denarius was the equivalent of four pence and was a working man's wage for a day. Normally one denarius bought anything from eight to sixteen measures of corn and three to four times as much barley. What John is foretelling is a situation in which a man's whole working wage would be needed to buy enough corn for himself for a day, leaving absolutely nothing to buy any of the other necessities of life and absolutely nothing for his wife and family. If instead of corn he bought the much inferior barley, he might manage to give some to his wife and family but again he would have nothing to buy anything else.

We have seen that, although John was telling of the signs which were to precede the end, he was nevertheless painting them in terms of actual historical situations which men would recognize. There had been desperate famines in the time of Nero which left the luxury of the rich untouched. There was an occasion when a ship arrived in Italy from Alexandria. The starving populace thought it was a cornship, for all the cornships came from Alexandria; and they rioted when they discovered that the cargo was not corn but a special kind of sand from the Nile Delta to spread upon the ground of the arena for a gladiatorial show. This passage finds an amazing echo in certain events during the reign of Domitian, at the very time when John was writing. There was a very serious shortage of grain and also a superabundance of wine. Domitian took the drastic step of enacting that no fresh vineyards should be planted and that half the vineyards in the provinces should be cut down. At this edict the people of the province of Asia, in which John was writing, came very near to rebelling for their vineyards were one of their principal sources of revenue. In view of the violent reaction of the people of Asia, Domitian rescinded his edict and actually enacted that those who allowed their vineyards to go out of cultivation should be prosecuted. Here is the very picture of a situation in which corn was scarce and it was yet forbidden to interfere with the supply of wine and oil.

So, then, this is a picture of famine set alongside luxury. There is always something radically wrong with a situation in which some have too much and others too little. This is always a sign that the society in which it occurs is hastening to its ruin.

There is one other interesting point which, it has been suggested, is in this passage. It is from the midst of the four living creatures that there comes the voice telling of the famine prices of corn. We have already seen that the four living creatures may well symbolize all that is best in nature; and this may well be taken to be nature's protest against famine amidst men. The tragedy has nearly always been that nature produces enough, and more than enough, but that there are many people to whom that abundance never comes. It is as if John was symbolically indicating that nature herself protests when the gifts she offers are used selfishly and irresponsibly for the luxury of the few at the expense of the many.

Barclay: Rev 6:7-8

As we approach this passage we must once again remember that it is telling not of the final end but of the signs which precede it. That is why it is a fourth part of the earth which is involved in death and disaster. This is a terrible time but it is not the time of total destruction.

The picture is a grim one. The horse is pale in colour. The word is chloros (5515) which means pale in the sense of livid and is used of a face blenched with terror. The passage is complicated by the fact that the Greek word thanatos (2288) is used in a double sense. In Rev 6:8it is used to mean both death and pestilence.

John was writing in a time when famine and pestilence did devastate the world; but in this case he is thinking in terms provided by the Old Testament which more than once speaks of "the four sore judgments." Ezekiel hears God tell of the time when he will send his "four sore acts of judgment upon Jerusalem"--sword, famine, evil beasts, and pestilence (Eze 14:21). In Leviticus there is a passage which tells of the penalties which God will send upon his people because of their disobedience. Wild beasts will rob them of their children and destroy their cattle and make them few in number. The sword will avenge their breaches of the covenant. When they are gathered in their cities the pestilence will be among them. He will break the stall of bread and they will eat and not be satisfied (Lev 26:21-26).

Here John is using a traditional picture of what is to happen when God despatches his wrath upon his disobedient people. At the back of it all is the permanent truth that no man or nation can escape the consequences of their sin.

Barclay: Rev 6:9-11

At the breaking of the fifth seal comes the vision of the souls of those who had died for their faith.

Jesus left his followers in no doubt as to the suffering and the martyrdom they would be called upon to endure. "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated of all nations for my name's sake" (Mat 24:9; Mar 13:9-13; Luk 21:12, Luk 21:18). The day would come when those who killed Christians would think they were doing a service for God (Joh 16:2).

The idea of an altar in heaven is one that occurs more than once in the Revelation (Rev 8:5; Rev 14:18). It is not by any means a new idea. When the furnishings of the tabernacle were to be made, they were all to be constructed according to the pattern which God possessed and would show (Exo 25:9; Exo 25:40; Num 8:4; Heb 8:5; Heb 9:23). It is the consistent idea of those who wrote about the Tabernacle and the Temple that the pattern of all the holy things already existed in heaven.

The souls of those who had been slain were there beneath the altar. That picture is taken directly from the sacrificial ritual of the Temple. For a Jew the most sacred part of any sacrifice was the blood; the blood was regarded as being the life and the life belonged to God (Lev 17:11-14). Because of that, there were special regulations for the offering of the blood.

"The rest of the blood of the bull the priest shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering" (Lev 4:7). That is to say, the blood is offered at the foot of the altar.

This gives us the meaning of our passage here. The souls of the martyrs are beneath the altar. That is to say, their life-blood has been poured out as an offering to God. The idea of the martyr's life as a sacrifice to God is in the mind of Paul. He says that he will rejoice, if he is offered up on the sacrifice and the service of the faith of the Philippians (Phi 2:17). "I am already," he says, "on the point of being sacrificed" (2Ti 4:6). In the time of the Maccabees the Jews suffered terribly for their faith. There was a mother whose seven sons were threatened with death because of their loyalty to their Jewish beliefs. She encouraged them not to yield and reminded them how Abraham had not refused to offer Isaac. She told them that, when they reached their glory, they must tell Abraham that he had built one altar of sacrifice but their mother had built seven. In later Judaism it was said that Michael, the archangel, sacrificed on the heavenly altar the souls of the righteous and of those who had been faithful students of the law. When Ignatius of Antioch was on his way to Rome to be burned, his prayer was that he should be found a sacrifice belonging to God.

There is a great and uplifting truth here. When a good man dies for the sake of goodness, it may look like tragedy, like the waste of a fine life; like the work of evil men; and, indeed, it may be all these things. But every life laid down for right and truth and God is ultimately more than any of these things--it is an offering made to God.

Barclay: Rev 6:9-11

There are three things in this section which we must note.

(i) We have the eternal cry of the suffering righteous--"How long?" This was the cry of the Psalmist. How long were the heathen to be allowed to afflict God's righteous people? How long were they to be allowed to taunt his people by asking where God was and what he was doing? (Psa 79:5-10). The thing to remember is that when the saints of God uttered this cry, they were bewildered by God's seeming inactivity but they never doubted his ultimate action, and the ultimate vindication of the righteous.

(ii) We have a picture which is easy to criticize. The saints actually wished to see the punishment of their persecutors. it is hard for us to understand the idea that part of the joy of heaven was to see the punishment of the sinners in Hell. In the Assumption of Moses the Jewish writer (10: 10) hears God promise:

And thou shalt look from on high and shalt see thy enemies in

Gehenna.

And thou shalt recognize them and rejoice,

And thou shalt give thanks and confess thy Creator.

In later times Tertullian (Concerning Spectacles 30) was to taunt the heathen with their love of spectacles and to say that the spectacle to which the Christian most looked forward was to see his one-time persecutors writhing in Hell.

You are fond of spectacles; expect the greatest of all spectacles,

the last and eternal judgment of the universe. How shall I admire,

how laugh, how rejoice, how exult, when I behold so many proud

monarchs, and fancied gods, groaning in the lowest abyss of

darkness; so many magistrates who persecuted the name of the Lord,

liquefying in fiercer flames than they ever kindled against the

Christians; so many sage philosophers blushing in red hot flames

with their deluded scholars; so many celebrated poets trembling

before the tribunal, not of Minos, but of Christ; so many

tragedians more tuneful in the expression of their own sufferings;

so many dancers writhing in the flames.

It is easy to stand aghast at the spirit of vengeance which could write like that. But we must remember what these men went through, the agony of the flames, of the arena and the wild beasts, of the sadistic torture which they suffered. We have the right to criticize only when we have gone through the same agony.

(iii) The martyrs must rest in peace for a little longer until their number is made up. The Jews had the conviction that the drama of history had to be played out in full before the end could come. God would not stir until the measure appointed had been fulfilled (2Esdr 4:36). The number of the righteous first has to be offered (Enoch 47:4). The Messiah would not come until all the souls which were to be born had been born. The same idea finds its echo in the burial prayer in the Anglican Prayer Book that "it may please thee shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect and to hasten thy kingdom." It is a curious notion but at the back of it is the idea that all history is in the hand of God, and that in it and through it all he is working his purpose out to its certain end.

Barclay: Rev 6:12-14

John is using pictures very familiar to his Jewish readers. The Jews always regarded the end as a time when the earth would be shattered and there would be cosmic upheaval and destruction. In the picture there are, as it were, five elements which can all be abundantly illustrated from the Old Testament and from the books written between the Testaments.

(i) There is the earthquake. At the coming of the Lord the earth will tremble (Amo 8:8). There will be a great shaking in the land of Israel (Eze 38:19). The earth will quake and the heavens will tremble (Joe 2:10). God will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land (Hag 2:6). The earth will tremble and be shaken to its bounds; the hills will be shaken and fall (Assumption of Moses 10: 4). The earth shall open and fire burst forth (2Esdr 5:8). Whoever gets out of the war will die in the earthquake; and whoever gets out of the earthquake will die in the fire, and whoever gets out of the fire will perish in the famine (Bar 70:8). The Jewish prophets and seers saw a time when earth would be shattered and a tide of destruction would flow over the old world before the new world was born.

(ii) There is the darkening of the sun and moon. The sun will set at midday, and earth will grow dark in the clear day light (Amo 8:9). The stars will not shine; the sun will be darkened in his going forth and the moon will not cause her light to shine (Isa 13:10). God will clothe the heavens with blackness and will make sackcloth their covering (Isa 50:3). God will make the stars dark and cover the sun with a cloud (Eze 32:7). The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood (Joe 2:31). The horns of the sun will be broken and he will be turned into darkness, the moon will not give her light, and will be turned into blood; and the circle of the stars will be disturbed (Assumption of Moses 10: 4-5). The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light (Mat 24:29; Mar 13:24; Luk 23:45).

(iii) There is the falling of the stars. To the Jew this idea was specially terrible, for the order of the heavens was the very guarantee of the unchanging fidelity of God. Take away the reliability of the heavens and there was nothing left but chaos. The angel tells Enoch to behold the heavens, to see how the heavenly bodies never change their orbits or transgress against their appointed order (Enoch 2:1). Enoch saw the chambers of the sun and moon, how they go out and come in, how they never leave their orbit, and add nothing to it and take nothing from it (Enoch 41:5). To the Jew the last word in chaos was a world of falling stars. But in the end time the host of heaven would be dissolved and fall down as the leaf falls from the vine and the fig from the fig-tree (Isa 34:4). The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be shaken (Mat 24:29). The firmament shall fall on the sea and a cataract of fire will reduce the heavens and the stars to a molten mass (Sibylline Oracles 3: 83). The stars will transgress their order and alter their orbits (Enoch 80:5-6). The outgoings of the stars will change (2Esdr 5:4). The end will be a time when the most reliable things in the universe will become a disorderly and terrifying chaos.

(iv) There is the folding up of the heavens. The picture in this passage is of a roll stretched out and held open, and then suddenly split down the middle so that each half recoils and rolls up. God will shake the heavens (Isa 13:13). The heavens will be rolled together as a scroll (Isa 34:4). They will be changed like a garment and folded up (Psa 102:25-26). At the end the eternal heavens themselves will be rent in two.

(v) There is the moving of the hills and of the islands of the sea. The mountains will tremble and the hills will be moved (Jer 4:24). The mountains will quake and the hills will melt (Nah 1:5). John saw a time when the most unshakeable things would be shaken and when even rocky isles like Patmos would be lifted from their foundation.

Strange as John's pictures may seem to us, there is not a single detail which is not in the pictures of the end time in the Old Testament and in the books written between the Testaments. We must not think that these pictures are to be taken literally. Their point is that John is taking every terrifying thing that can be imagined and piling them all together to give a picture of the terrors of the end time. Today, with our increased scientific knowledge, we might well paint the picture in different terms; but it is not the picture that matters. What matters is the terrors which John and the Jewish seers foresaw when God would invade the earth when time was coming to an end.

Barclay: Rev 6:15-17

As John saw it in his vision, the end time was to be one of universal terror. Here again he is working with pictures familiar to all who knew the Old Testament and the later Jewish writings. When the Day of the Lord came, men would be afraid; pangs and sorrows would take hold of them; they would be in pain as a woman who travails; and they would be amazed at one another (Isa 13:6, Isa 13:8). At that time even the mighty man would cry bitterly (Zep 1:14). The inhabitants of the land would tremble (Joe 2:1). They would be frighted with fear; there would be no place to which to flee and no place in which to hide; the children of earth would tremble and quake (Enoch 102:1, 3). God would come to be a witness against his sinning people (Mic 1:1-4). He would be like a refiner's fire, and who might abide the day of his coming? (Mal 3:1-3). The Day of the Lord would be great and terrible, and who could endure it? (Joe 2:11). Men would say to the mountains, "Cover us," and to the hills, "Fall on us" (Hos 10:8), words which Jesus quoted on the way to the Cross (Luk 23:30).

This passage has two significant things to say about this fear.

(i) It is universal. Rev 6:15speaks of the kings, the captains, the great ones, the rich, the strong, the slave and the free. It has been pointed out that these seven words include "the whole fabric of human society." No one is exempt from the judgment of God. The great ones may well be the Roman governors who persecute the Church; the captains are the military authorities. However great a governor a man is and however much power he wields, he is still subject to the judgment of God. However rich a man may be, however strong, however free he may count himself, however much of a slave, however insignificant, he does not escape the judgment of God.

(ii) When the day of the Lord comes, John sees people seeking somewhere to hide. Here is the great truth that the first instinct of sin is to hide. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve sought to hide themselves (Gen 3:8). H. B. Swete says: "What sinners dread most is not death, but the revealed presence of God." The terrible thing about sin is that it makes a man a fugitive from God; and the supreme thing about the work of Jesus Christ is that it puts a man into a relationship with God in which he no longer need seek to hide, knowing that he can cast himself on the love and the mercy of God.

(iii) We note one last thing. That from which men flee is the wrath of the Lamb. Here is paradox; we do not readily associate wrath with the Lamb but rather gentleness and kindness. But the wrath of God is the wrath of love, which is not out to destroy but even in anger is out to save the one it loves.

Constable: Rev 4:1--22:6

III. THE REVELATION OF THE FUTURE 4:1--22:5

John recorded the rest of this book to reveal those aspects of the future that God wanted His people to know (cf. 1:19). He revealed the events in chapters 4-18 to enable the readers to understand events leading up to Jesus Christ's second coming.

"The closest modern parallel to this mode of communication is the political cartoon, which has gained an established place in the popular press all over the world."¹⁹⁴

Scholars have proposed many interpretations of the remaining chapters (4-22), but the only ones that make much sense of the text are those that see them as predicting events yet future. This is the futuristic approach. Other approaches are the following. The idealist (or allegorical) approach sees these chapters as containing the story of the conflict between God and Satan in the present age with a symbolic presentation of God's ultimate victory. The preterist approach sees these chapters as a picture of conflicts that took place in the early history of the church. Some preterist interpreters see these chapters as a symbolic revelation of God's principles of dealing with humankind throughout history. The historical approach interprets these chapters as a history of the church from Jesus Christ's first advent to His second advent. A major problem with the approaches just named is that their advocates do not agree with one another on the interpretation of individual passages. Only the futuristic approach has resulted in consistency in the interpretation of the major interpretive problems. This approach also has the support of 1:19 that promises a revelation of things yet future.

Whereas chapters 4-18 present events culminating in Jesus Christ's second coming, there are clues in the text that not everything in these chapters is in chronological order. I will point out these clues in the exposition to follow. There is also evidence in the text that as the time of Christ's return approaches predicted events will occur more closely together. The revelation of these events becomes correspondingly fuller. Jesus' second coming is the true climax of this section of the book and is the true climax of history on planet earth.

Constable: Rev 6:1-17

B. The first six seal judgments ch. 6

John received revelation concerning the judgments that would take place on earth after the Lamb opened the seals on the scroll (5:1). God gave him this information to help us understand what will take place in the future. The diagram above places the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgements that begin to unfold here in the context of the earlier revelation concerning Daniel's seventieth week (Dan. 9:24-27).

The failure of scholars to agree on the correlation of events that have happened in church history with these judgments confirms that the events predicted here are still future (cf. 1:19; 4:1). Some interpreters view the seals as describing conditions preparatory to the Tribulation.²⁴⁸ Other scholars believe that they picture events that are part of the Tribulation.²⁴⁹ I favor the second view. The seals, trumpets, and bowl judgments seem to fit best this last seven-year period of which Daniel prophesied (i.e., the Tribulation, Dan. 9:27).

The order of events predicted in Revelation 6 is very similar to the order Jesus predicted in the Olivet Discourse. That passage is key to understanding the further revelation that God gave John about this future time. These events are the appearance of antichrists, war, famine, death, martyrdom, and earthly and heavenly phenomena. Later in the Olivet Discourse Jesus mentioned an event that occurs at the middle of Daniel's seventieth week, namely, the abomination of desolation (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). Consequently the events that He described before the midpoint, namely, those of the first six seals, will probably occur in the first half of the Tribulation. Jesus referred to this three and one-half year period as the "beginning of birth-pangs" (Matt. 24:8; Mark 13:8).

The "beginning of birth-pangs" (Matt. 24:8; Mark 13:8) The first half of the Tribulation
Matt. 24:4-5	Mark 13:6	Luke 21:8	Antichrists	Rev. 6:1-2	First seal
Matt. 24:6-7	Mark 13:7-8	Luke 21:9-10	War	Rev. 6:3-4	Second seal
Matt. 24:7	Mark 13:8	Luke 21:11	Famine	Rev. 6:5-6	Third seal
Matt. 24:9	Mark 13:12	Luke 21:16	Death	Rev. 6:7-8	Fourth seal
Matt. 24:9-13	Mark 13:9-13	Luke 21:12-19	Martyrdom	Rev. 6:9-11	Fifth seal
		Luke 21:11	Earthly & heavenly phenomena	Rev. 6:12-17	Sixth seal
The "abomination of desolation" (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14) The middle of the Tribulation

Constable: Rev 6:1-2

1. The first seal 6:1-2

6:1 "I saw" marks the continuation of what John had seen that chapters 4 and 5 record, but also the commencement of revelation concerning future events on earth. Chapters 1-5 have introduced this revelation. John was an eyewitness of this revelation that came to him as action scenes in a film rather than as words from the pages of a book.

When the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll that He had taken from God, one of the four creatures invited someone to "Come." This was probably an invitation to the first horseman rather than to John or to Christ. The angel gave this command (Gr. imperative) four times (vv. 1, 3, 5, 7), and each time a horseman on a horse came forth.

6:2 John saw a horse, which was a war machine in his day (cf. Job 39:19-25; Ps. 76:5-6; Prov. 21:31), and its rider (cf. Zech. 1:7-11; 6:2-3; Jer. 14:12; 24:10; 42:17). The horse was white symbolizing righteousness and holiness. It gave an appearance of purity, but that does not necessarily mean the rider was righteous.

"When men wage war they always pretend to be fighting for righteousness."²⁵⁰

The first four seal judgments involve riders riding horses of various colors. This imagery recalls Zechariah 1:8 and 6:1-8. However the horses and horsemen in Revelation evidently represent something different from those in Zechariah as comparison of these texts suggests.

The rider carried a bow (cf. Zech. 9:13-14) symbolizing victory, but no arrows. The absence of arrows probably indicates a bloodless victory. The rider threatens war (cf. Num. 24:8; Ps. 45:5; Zech. 9:14), but it never occurs, probably because he accomplishes victory through peaceful means. Someone, evidently God, gave him an imperial crown (Gr. stephanos) anticipating an authoritative career (cf. 9:1, 3, 5; 13:5, 7, 14, 15). The sovereign God is the only one who can give human rulers authority to rule (cf. Rom. 13:1).

"All events in the apocalyptic section of the book are initiated from the throne described in chapter 4 . . ., and must be understood in that light. Though indirect, all that transpires under the seals is in implementation of the book of doom' through the agency of the Lamb introduced in chapter 5."²⁵¹

This rider rode out conquering his enemies and bent on future conquests.

There have been many suggestions concerning who or what this rider represents. These include a Roman emperor, the Parthian invasion of the Roman Empire, Messiah, and the Antichrist. Others have taken him to represent the Word of God, a personification of judgment, the victorious course of the gospel, warfare in general, triumphant militarism, or the personification of ungodly movements. In the Olivet Discourse Jesus predicted that a number of individuals will mislead many people (cf. Matt. 24:5, 24; Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8). This has led some interpreters to conclude that a personification of ungodly activity is what the rider represents in this verse.²⁵² The most probable view is that this is a prophecy of Antichrist who will make a covenant with Israel but only as a pretense for destroying the Jews (cf. Dan. 9:27; 1 Thess. 5:3).²⁵³

Constable: Rev 6:3-4

2. The second seal 6:3-4

6:3 When the Lamb broke the second seal on the scroll, John heard the second living creature order the second horseman forward.

6:4 The red horse probably symbolizes bloodshed and war. The rider of this horse removes peace from the earth and begins war. There do not seem to me to be sufficient similarities between this red horse rider and the one in Zechariah 1:7 to identify them as the same individual. The one in Zechariah is probably the Angel of the Lord.²⁵⁴

If we observe the Olivet Discourse parallelism, the time when peace ends is probably before the middle of the Tribulation (cf. Matt. 24:6-7a; Mark 13:7-8a; Luke 21:9-10). This is, therefore, not a reference to the termination of peace with Israel that Antichrist will affect, which will signal the middle of the Tribulation and the beginning of the Great Tribulation (cf. Matt. 24:15).

The large sword (Gr. machaira megale) represents authority to slay people. War on the earth will follow the manifestation of Antichrist. The warfare in view here seems to be what Ezekiel described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 as the battle of Gog and Magog.²⁵⁵

Constable: Rev 6:5-6

3. The third seal 6:5-6

6:5 A black horse followed symbolizing the ravage of war, namely, famine. Antichrist, the cause of this famine, seems to be the rider (cf. Matt. 24:7b). He carries a pair of balance scales, a symbol of commerce, indicating his control of commodity prices.

6:6 The voice in the middle of the four living creatures must belong to God or the Lamb, probably God the Father since He is the source of all these judgments (cf. v. 11). The price of wheat (good food) and barley (cheap cattle food) will be very high. A quart of wheat would provide one meal, but it would cost a whole day's wages. In John's day a denarius would purchase 12 to 15 times as much food. The poor would have little money left over for oil, for fuel and health needs, and for wine to drink (cf. Ezek. 4:16-17). "Do not harm" means, "Do not tamper with" reflecting the strict control over prices that ungodly rulers under Antichrist's leadership will have at this time.

The causes of the famine were not extremely severe since they killed the wheat and barley but not the vines and olive trees (v. 6) whose roots go deeper.²⁵⁶ As the Tribulation grows worse, the rich as well as the poor will suffer, but at this early stage the poor will suffer more than the rich. Probably the wars that the ungodly rulers under Antichrist's leadership begin will reduce the food supply greatly. These rulers will control it strictly with consequent suffering for many people (cf. Luke 21:11).

Constable: Rev 6:7-8

4. The fourth seal 6:7-8

6:7 The Lamb broke the fourth seal, and the fourth living creature called the fourth horseman out.

6:8 John next saw an ashen (lit. pale green) horse the color of a human corpse. Presumably Antichrist, the cause of this death, is the rider since his name is "Death."²⁵⁷ "Hades," which claims unbelieving people's immaterial part at death, followed on his heels.²⁵⁸ Perhaps John saw Hades following Death as a man on foot follows a mounted warrior grimly gathering in his victims, or as a hearse follows a horse.

God gave these enemies authority to take one-fourth of the world's population. This evidently is the total number that will die as a result of all the catastrophes predicted so far. These catastrophes are war, the resulting famine, and disease. Attacks by wild animals will also contribute to the death rate (cf. Jer. 15:2-3; 24:10; 29:17-18; Ezek. 5:12, 17; 14:21). Presently the world's population is about five billion people. These initial calamities would reduce that number by one and one-half billion. It seems that nuclear war could play some role in this devastation since so many people will die in these judgments.

Constable: Rev 6:12-17

6. The sixth seal 6:12-17

The scene now shifts back to earth.

"The entire passage in every clause utilizes well known prophetic anticipations of the day of the Lord, and by his use of these images John identifies the day for his readers. One may check this by consulting the chief scriptures John employs, notably Joel 2:10, 30f., Isaiah 13:9ff., 2:10ff., 34:4, Ezekiel 32:7f., Hosea 10:8. These passages depict the concomitants of the day of the Lord and supply John with all his pictures."²⁶²

6:12-13 Next God will send a tremendous earthquake that will rock the whole world (cf. Luke 21:11). The darkening of the sun (cf. Isa. 13:10; Ezek. 32:7-8; Joel 2:10, 31; Amos 8:9; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25), the reddening of the moon (cf. Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20), and the falling of the stars to earth (a meteor-like shower?) appear from the context to be consequences of this judgment.²⁶³ A less likely possibility is that they will be unrelated phenomena.

Many commentators have taken this description as picturing a metaphorical convulsion among the nations, not a literal shaking of the earth and the heavens. We should probably take them literally for at least two reasons. First, Jesus used the same language in the Olivet Discourse and gave no indication that it was symbolic (cf. Matt. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11). Second, a shaking of the nations follows in verses 15-17.

6:14 Evidently the sky will appear to split and roll back in two opposite directions (cf. Isa. 34:4).²⁶⁴ The universe will seem to be coming apart. Apparently the opening of the sky will give earth-dwellers a glimpse into the throneroom of heaven (v. 16). Probably the earthquake (v. 12) will cause mountains and islands to rise and fall (cf. Nah. 1:6).

6:15-16 The reaction of every category of humanity all over the world is amazing. It indicates that people's perception of God and the Lamb in heaven will be far more terrifying to them than the physical consequences of this judgment. Whereas the martyrs cry, "Avenge us" (v. 10), these unbelievers cry, "Hide us."

"What sinners dread most is not death, but having to stand before a holy and righteous God."²⁶⁵

Literal interpretation does not rule out the use of hyperbole, which appears at this point. If all the mountains moved out of their places, there would be no places for people to seek to hide.

6:17 This "great day of their wrath" is the Tribulation, Daniel's seventieth week (cf. Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1; Joel 2:2; Matt. 24:21). These people will not turn to God in repentance but from Him in terror (cf. Isa. 2:19, 21; Hos. 10:8; Luke 23:30). By the end of the sixth seal judgment, they will know that what they are experiencing is the outpouring of His wrath. This is the first part of the judgment phase of the day of the Lord (cf. Joel 2:11, 30-31; Isa. 2:10-11, 19-21; 13:8-13; 26:17-19; 34:4, 8; 66:7-9; Jer. 30:6-8; Ezek. 32:7-8; Hos. 10:8; Mic. 4:9-10; Matt. 24:8; 1 Thess. 5:3).²⁶⁶

Note that the Tribulation will be a distinct judgment of God unique from other times of distress that the earth has ever experienced (Jer. 30:7). It will be worldwide and severe. Furthermore everyone will not only know that it is a divine judgment, but they will act like it by seeking death to hide from God, not just from these calamities. The judgments of the sixth seal appear to be a foreshadowing of the similar but even greater judgments that will come at the end of the Tribulation, just before Jesus Christ returns to the earth (cf. 16:17-21; Matt. 24:21).

"The cosmic disturbances immediately before the beginning of the Joel 3 Day of the Lord and the Second Coming of Christ immediately after the Great Tribulation are not the same as those of the sixth seal. The cosmic disturbances immediately before the beginning of the Joel 3 Day of the Lord and the Second Coming of Christ will occur at the end of the 70th week, but those of the sixth seal will occur and end considerably before then."²⁶⁷

Postmillennialists²⁶⁸ and amillennialists²⁶⁹ interpret the revelation of tribulation in chapters 6-18 as a symbolic description of various troubles that have come and will come on believers before Jesus Christ's second coming. They do not believe the Tribulation will be a specific seven-year period of the unique outpouring of God's wrath yet future.

Posttribulationists believe the church will be on earth during the Tribulation. Gundry, a posttribulationist, held that sufferings Christians experience during the Tribulation will not come as a result of God's penal judgments but will be persecutions that arise "from other quarters."²⁷⁰ He viewed the martyrs of this period as Christians rather than as tribulation saints.

Marvin Rosenthal argued, correctly I believe, that the first four seals describe what Jesus called "the beginning of sorrows" (Matt. 24:8).²⁷¹ He equated this period with the first half of Daniel's seventieth week (i.e., three and one-half years, or 42 months). However, he wrote, incorrectly I believe, that the fifth and sixth seals picture "the Great Tribulation" (Matt. 24:21), which he limited to the following 21 months, not the whole second half of Daniel's seventieth week. He further argued, also incorrectly, that the seventh seal begins "the day of the Lord" (Joel 2:1-2), which will only be the final quarter of Daniel's seventieth week, namely, the remaining 21 months. He placed the Rapture at the beginning of the day of the Lord, which he believed would be the only period of wrath poured out. Thus since the Rapture will occur before it, according to his scheme, we can expect a "Pre-wrath Rapture."²⁷²

College: Rev 6:1-17

REVELATION 6

B. THE FIRST VISION OF THE FUTURE (6:1-8:1)

In our study of Revelation 4-5, we saw that the "scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals" symbolizes the redemptive will of God for his creation. Christ, the "Lamb who was slain," is able to open that scroll - or put God's plan into effect - because he died on the cross as the sacrifice for sin. Christ's sacrificial death cancels sin in the sense of ending the old age and inaugurating the new age of God's kingdom. In Revelation 6:1-8:1 we have John's description of the opening of that scroll - the execution of God's redemptive plan. This part of the book contains the first of three revelations of the future from John's time to the consummation. In the opening of the seven seals (seven being the number of completion), John gives us a picture of the complete future in abbreviated form. Later in the book, he will describe two more visions of the same period (8:2-11:19 and 12:1-22:6), each with more detail and each focusing on different aspects of the future.

1. The "Labor Pains": Seals One through Five (6:1-11)

a. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (6:1-8)

¹ I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" ² I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

³ When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" ⁴ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

⁵ When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart ^a of wheat for a day's wages, ^b and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, ^b and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

⁷ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" ⁸ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

^a 6 Greek a choinix (probably about a liter) ^b 6 Greek a denarius

In this passage, John uses imagery similar to that found in Zechariah 1:7-15 and 6:1-8. He states clearly what he intends the four horsemen to represent:

6:2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

The first horseman symbolizes political struggle and conquest.

6:4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

The second horseman symbolizes conflict and war.

6:5b-6 I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

The third horseman symbolizes limited famine and economic hardship. The rider holds in his hand a pair of scales, a common symbol of famine or food rationing. John hears a voice saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages." A quart of grain was considered a day's ration and a denarius a day's wage. Barley was cheaper than wheat and was the food of the poor. Oil and wine were also considered staples. The voice continues "and do not damage the oil and the wine!" presumably because they are scarce and thus precious. John paints a picture of limited famine. Food is selling for eight to sixteen times its normal price, but it is still available.

6:8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The rider on the "pale" horse (literally "green," apparently meaning sickly pale) symbolizes death - and particularly tragic, unnatural death in all its various forms (sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts). "Hades" is the Greek place of the dead, and thus a synonym for "death."

6:2,4,8 he was given a crown . . . . Its rider was given power . . . . To him was given a large sword. . . . They were given power . . . .

In Greek literature of John's time, verbs in the passive voice often indicate that the Deity is performing the action. These so-called "divine passives" appear throughout John's description of the four horsemen. As the seven seals are opened and God's redemptive plan for creation is put into effect, John shows us that God will permit the kind of troubles represented by the four horsemen to continue in the world for a period of time. Political struggle, war, economic hardship and tragic death will continue to be a part of the future John envisions for humankind. In other words, the "labor pains" will continue beyond A.D. 95-96 until the Second Coming of Christ. The prophecy is true, for this is exactly the way the world has been from John's time to the present.

6:1,3,5,7 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!". . . When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!". . . When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!". . . When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"

Before each horseman appears, one of the "four living creatures" cries out in a thunderous voice, "Come (e[rcou , erchou )!" Are the creatures addressing the horsemen, summoning them to come forth? Or are they addressing John, calling him to "come" and see each horseman? This second possibility seems most likely because, in at least three of four cases, the action that immediately follows this command is one taken by John ("I looked" - in response to the command?).

However, a third possibility should also be considered: Perhaps the four living creatures - together representing all God's creation (see under 4:6b-8) - are addressing Jesus, calling for his return. In support of this theory, the creatures do use the exact same language employed by John in Revelation 22:20, where he prays, "Come ( erchou ), Lord Jesus!" If this is John's intended meaning, then how should we interpret the vision of the four horsemen? These verses communicate the fact that, throughout the course of history, not only human beings, but all of creation (symbolized by the four living creatures), will be calling on Jesus to return and put an end to the hardship and suffering of the "labor pains" (symbolized by the four horsemen). In other words, John here communicates in apocalyptic symbolism the same truth the Apostle Paul expresses in Romans 8:22: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

b. The Souls of the Martyrs (6:9-11)

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw . . . the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.

The souls under the altar are the souls of Christian martyrs. They have been killed because of their witness to Christ - "slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained." (John says in Revelation 1:9 that he has been banished to Patmos for the same reason.)

under the altar

In the Jewish system, the bodies of sacrificial animals were burned on the altar and their blood was poured out at the base of the altar (see Leviticus 4). The life or "soul" of the animal was considered to be in the blood. As the Lord says in Leviticus 17:11, "The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." So Hebrews would think of the "life" or "soul" of the sacrificial animals as being in the pool of blood at the base of the altar.

When John pictures the souls of martyred Christians under an altar, he is portraying their deaths as blood-sacrifices poured out to God. He reinforces this idea in verse 9 when he says that these Christians have been "slain." The Greek verb here translated "slain" is sfavzw (sphazô ), the same word used earlier to describe the crucified Jesus as "a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain" (see above under Rev 5:6). Sphazô is a sacrificial term communicating the idea of being "slaughtered as a sacrifice."

In using the same terminology to describe both the murdered Jesus and murdered Christians, John is not saying that the deaths of martyred Christians are "sacrifices" in the same sense that Christ's death was a sacrifice - i.e., deaths that cancel sin in the sense of destroying the "present evil age" and inaugurating the kingdom of God. Revelation makes it very clear that the kingdom comes not through the death of Christians, but through the death of Christ. We see this truth in, for example, Revelation 12:10-11:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Christ.

For the accuser of our brothers [i.e., Satan],

who accuses them before our God day and night,

has been hurled down.

They overcame him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

as to shrink from death.

The kingdom of God does not come apart from the death of Christ. The deaths of Christians alone cannot accomplish the universal reign of God.

So when John describes Christians as being "slain" as sacrifices like Christ, he is not putting their deaths on an equal plane with Christ's regarding what their deaths accomplish. He is, however, making a comparison between the death of Christ and the deaths of Christian martyrs: Just as Christ himself was slain for his witness to God, so have these Christians followed in their Lord's footsteps by being slain for their witness to the truth. Christians will be treated like Christ himself was treated.

6:10-11 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

From under the altar, the souls of the slain martyrs cry out to God for vindication and vengeance - just as the blood of murdered Abel cried out to God from the ground in Genesis 4:10. However, God's vengeance on those who have mistreated his servants will not come yet. Verse 11 says: "They were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed."

2. The Final Judgment: Seal Six (6:12-17)

¹² I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, ¹³ and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

6:12-17 Using the language of cosmic catastrophe, John here describes the final judgment, the day of Christ's "wrath" against the enemies of God (v. 16), or the end of the world as we know it. For Christians who serve God it will be the dawn of salvation, but for those who oppose God - described here - it will be terrifying judgment and condemnation.

3. Summary of Revelation 6 (Seals 1-6)

and Comparison with Matthew 24

The contents of the scroll with seven seals - the contours of the future, the shape of God's redemptive plan - are becoming clear as we work our way through John's vision: The kind of suffering and tribulation represented by the four horsemen will continue (seals 1-4). Christians will not be immune from these troubles; they will not be taken out of the world to escape the suffering therein. Instead, believers may suffer even more than others because of their faith. Christians may be required to endure the persecution and death Christ himself endured because of their faithful witness to God and his Messiah (seal 5). However, these hardships of the messianic woes will not continue forever. Christ will one day return to end the suffering of his people and carry out God's final judgment (seal 6).

This is the same basic scenario Christ himself predicts a few days prior to his crucifixion and resurrection. In Matthew 24:3, Jesus' disciples ask him two questions: First, "When will this happen?" - that is, when will the temple be destroyed, as Jesus predicted in verse 2? Second, "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Jesus Matt 2answers the second question in verses 4-31, where he indicates that the only sign announcing his Second Coming will be the "labor pains" described in verses 4-29. Immediately after the "distress" of the labor pains, the "sign of the Son of Man" himself will appear as Christ returns to carry out the final judgment and consummate God's kingdom (see Matt 2vv. 29-31).

The Lord answers the first question in verses 15-22, where he anticipates the destruction of the temple by the Romans in A.D. 70. This event is preceded by "the abomination that causes desolation" - i.e., the detestable thing that causes God's presence to leave the temple. This phrase (borrowed from Daniel 9:27; 11:31; and 12:11) refers to the bringing of Gentile idols into Jerusalem by the Roman armies, just as Antiochus Epiphanes had brought them into Jerusalem in about 167 B.C. The destruction of the temple is itself a part of the "labor pains," which enables Jesus to answer his disciples' first question in the course of answering the second.

Against this background, note the similarities between John's first vision of the future and Jesus' prediction in Matthew 24:

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars [compare the first seal and horseman in Rev 6:1-2], but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom [compare the second seal and horseman in Rev 6:3-4]. There will be famines [compare the third seal and horseman in Rev 6:5-6] and earthquakes in various places. [Compare the deadly realities of verses 6-7 with the fourth seal and horseman in Rev 6:7-8.] All these are the beginning of birth pains [i.e., the beginning of the "labor pains" - Jesus calls on his disciples to understand the period between his first and second comings in apocalyptic terms].

Then you [disciples] will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me [compare seal 5 in Rev 6:9-11]. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Immediately after the distress of those days

"the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the heavenly bodies will be shaken [compare the cosmic catastrophe that accompanies the opening of the sixth seal in Rev 6:12-17]."

At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matt 24:6-14,29-31).

Jesus reveals the same vision of the future to his disciples that he later reveals to John - namely, the unfolding "labor pains" immediately followed by the final judgment and consummation. Regarding the exact time of the latter, we would be wise to keep in mind the Lord's words in verse 36: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Rev 6:16

REVELATION 6:16 —Is Christ merciful or wrathful?

PROBLEM: Throughout the Gospels Christ is presented as merciful, healing the sick, blessing the poor, comforting the sorrowing, and forgiving sinners (cf. Luke 9:56 ; 19:10 ). But the Book of Revelation speaks of “the wrath of the Lamb” ( 6:16 ) and the judgment of Christ on the whole world ( Rev. 19:11-15 ).

SOLUTION: Often the differences in these passages is due to their reference to different times in Jesus’ work on earth, namely, His first coming versus His second coming. His first coming was primarily a mission of mercy. His second coming, however, will be initially one of wrath. He who died as a Lamb ( John 1:29 ) will also return as a Lion ( Rev. 5:5 ). During His first coming, Jesus was a bruised reed ( Isa. 42:3 ), but at His second coming He will rule with an iron rod ( Ps. 2:9 ).

At other times, Jesus’ different attitudes and actions were simply due to the fact that they were directed at different people or conditions. For example, even during His first coming Jesus was angry with hypocrites ( Matt. 23 ) and indignant with those who had commercialized the house of God ( John 2 ). He cursed the fig tree, which symbolized the fruitless nation of Israel that rejected their Messiah ( Matt. 21:19 ). At all times, Jesus is merciful to the penitent and wrathful to the impenitent.   

Evidence: Rev 6:10

Never fear the thought that you are causing sinners to fear by referring to the Judgment. Judgment Day is the climax of the ages. It is an event for which the very creation cries out ( Rom 8:21-22 ). It has done so from the blood of Abel to the last injustice of this age.

With God, justice delayed is not justice denied. Every transgression against the Moral Law will receive just recompense—in His time. God loves justice...and He will have it.

Evidence: Rev 6:15

Note the truth of Pro 11:4 : " Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivers from death." Those who are unrighteous—no matter how wealthy or prominent, great or mighty—all will be cowering in fear of a holy God’s wrath.

Evidence: Rev 6:16

Concern for the lost . The very thought of this terrible day should motivate the hardest heart into urgent evangelism.

" You blame me for weeping; but how can I help it when you will not weep for yourselves, although your own immortal souls are on the verge of destruction, and ought I know, you are hearing your last sermon, and may never have opportunity to have Christ offered to you." George Whitefield

" If you haven’t got tears in your eyes, let them hear tears in your voice!" Catherine Booth

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Revelation (Book Introduction)

THE REVELATION OF JOHN

ABOUT a.d. 95

By Way of Introduction

Difficulty in the Problem

Perhaps no single book in the New Testament presents so many and so formidable problems as the Apocalypse of John. These difficulties concern the authorship, the date, the apocalyptic method, the relation to the other Johannine books, the purpose, the historical environment, the reception of the book in the New Testament canon, the use and misuse of the book through the ages, etc. In the eastern churches the recognition of the Apocalypse of John was slower than in the west, since it was not in the Peshitta Syriac Version. Caius of Rome attributed the book to Cerinthus the Gnostic, but he was ably answered by Hippolytus, who attributed it to the Apostle John. The Council of Laodicea (about a.d. 360) omitted it, but the third Council of Carthage (a.d. 397) accepted it. The dispute about millenarianism led Dionysius of Alexandria (middle of the third century, a.d.) to deny the authorship to the Apostle John, though he accepted it as canonical. Eusebius suggested a second John as the author. But finally the book was accepted in the east as Hebrews was in the west after a period of doubt.

Poor State of the Text

There are only five uncials that give the text of John’s Apocalypse (Aleph A C P Q). Of these Aleph belongs to the fourth century, A and C to the fifth, Q (really B2 , B ending with Heb_9:13, both in the Vatican Library) to the eighth, P to the ninth. Only Aleph A Q (= B2 ) are complete, C lacking Rev_1:1, 3:19-5:14, Rev_7:14-17, 8:5-9:16, 10:10-11:3, 14:13-18:2, 19:5-21, P lacking Rev 16:12 - 17:1, 19:21-20:9, 22:6-21. Both C and P are palimpsests. In the 400 verses of the book " over 1,600 variants have been counted" (Moffatt). Erasmus had only one cursive (of the twelfth century numbered Ir) for his first edition, and the last six verses of the Apocalypse, save Rev_22:20, were a translation from the Vulgate. The result is that the versions are of special importance for the text of the book, since in no single MS. or group of MSS. do we have a fairly accurate text, though Aleph A C and A C Vulgate are the best two groups.

The Apocalyptic Style

The book claims to be an apocalypse (Rev_1:1) and has to be treated as such. It is an unveiling ( apokalupsis , from apokaluptō ) or revelation of Jesus Christ, a prophecy, in other words, of a special type, like Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel in the Old Testament. There was a considerable Jewish apocalyptic literature by this time when John wrote, much of it b.c., some of it a.d., like the Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Baruch, the Book of Jubilees, the Assumption of Moses, the Psalms of Solomon, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Sibylline Oracles, some of them evidently " worked over by Christian hands" (Swete). Jesus himself used the apocalyptic style at times (Mark 13; Matt 24, 25; Luke 21). Paul in 1 Cor 14 spoke of the unpremeditated apocalyptic utterances in the Christian meetings and suggested restraints concerning them. " The Revelation of John is the only written apocalypse, as it is the only written prophecy of the Apostolic age.... The first Christian apocalypse came on the crest of this long wave of apocalyptic effort" (Swete). The reason for this style of writing is usually severe persecution and the desire to deliver a message in symbolic form. The effort of Antiochus Epiphanes, who claimed to be " a god manifest," to hellenize the Jews aroused violent opposition and occasioned many apocalypses to cheer the persecuted Jews.

Emperor Worship as the Occasion for John’s Apocalypse

There is no doubt at all that the emperor cult (emperor worship) played a main part in the persecution of the Christians that was the occasion for this great Christian apocalypse. The book itself bears ample witness to this fact, if the two beasts refer to the Roman power as the agent of Satan. It is not possible to single out each individual emperor in the graphic picture. Most would take the dragon to be Satan and the first and the second beasts to be the imperial and provincial Roman power. The Roman emperors posed as gods and did the work of Satan. In particular there were two persecuting emperors (Nero and Domitian) who were responsible for many martyrs for Christ. But emperor worship began before Nero. Julius Caesar was worshipped in the provinces. Octavius was called Augustus ( Sebastos , Reverend). The crazy Emperor Caius Caligula not simply claimed to be divine, but actually demanded that his statue be set up for worship in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem. He was killed in January a.d. 41 before he could execute his dire purpose. But the madcap Nero likewise demanded worship and blamed in a.d. 64 the burning of Rome on the Christians, though guilty of it himself. He set the style for persecuting Christians, which slumbered on and burst into flames again under Domitian, who had himself commonly termed Dominus ac Deus noster (Our Lord and God). The worship of the emperor did not disturb the worshippers of other gods save the Jews and the Christians, and in particular the Christians were persecuted after the burning of Rome when they were distinguished from the Jews. Up till then Christians were regarded (as by Gallio in Corinth) as a variety of Jews and so entitled to tolerance as a religio licita , but they had no standing in law by themselves and their refusal to worship the emperor early gave offence, as Paul indicates in 1Co_12:3. It was Kurios Iēsous or Kurios Kaisar . On this very issue Polycarp lost his life. The emperors as a rule were tolerant about it, save Nero and Domitian, who was called Nero redivivus , or Nero back again. Trajan in his famous letter to Pliny advised tolerance except in stubborn cases, when the Christians had to be put to death. After Nero it was a crime to be a Christian and all sorts of slanders about them were circulated. We have seen already in 2Th_2:3., the man of sin who sets himself above God as the object of worship. We have seen also in 1Jo_2:18, 1Jo_2:22; 1Jo_4:3; 2Jo_1:7 the term antichrist applied apparently to Gnostic heretics. One may wonder if, as Beckwith argues, in the Apocalypse the man of sin and the antichrist are united in the beast.

The Author

The writer calls himself John (Rev_1:1, Rev_1:4, Rev_1:9; Rev_22:8). But what John? The book can hardly be pseudonymous, though, with the exception of the Shepherd of Hermas, that is the rule with apocalypses. There would have been a clearer claim than just the name. The traditional and obvious way to understand the name is the Apostle John, though Dionysius of Alexandria mentions John Mark as held by some and he himself suggests another John, like the so-called Presbyter John of Papias as quoted by Eusebius. The uncertain language of Papias has raised a deal of questioning. Swete thinks that the majority of modern critics ascribe the Apocalypse to this Presbyter John, to whom Moffatt assigns probably 2 John and 3 John. Irenaeus represents the Apostle John as having lived to the time of Trajan, at least to a.d. 98. Most ancient writers agree with this extreme old age of John. Justin Martyr states expressly that the Apostle John wrote the Apocalypse. Irenaeus called it the work of a disciple of Jesus. In the ninth century lived Georgius Hamartolus, and a MS. of his alleges that Papias says that John the son of Zebedee was beheaded by the Jews and there is an extract in an Oxford MS. of the seventh century which alleges that Papias says John and James were put to death by the Jews. On the basis of this slim evidence some today argue that John did not live to the end of the century and so did not write any of the Johannine books. But a respectable number of modern scholars still hold to the ancient view that the Apocalypse of John is the work of the Apostle and Beloved Disciple, the son of Zebedee.

Relation to the Fourth Gospel

Here scholars divide again. Many who deny the Johannine authorship of the Fourth Gospel and the Epistles accept the apostolic authorship of the Apocalypse, Baur, for instance. Hort, Lightfoot, and Westcott argued for the Johannine authorship on the ground that the Apocalypse was written early (time of Nero or Vespasian) when John did not know Greek so well as when the Epistles and the Gospel were written. There are numerous grammatical laxities in the Apocalypse, termed by Charles a veritable grammar of its own. They are chiefly retention of the nominative case in appositional words or phrases, particularly participles, many of them sheer Hebraisms, many of them clearly intentional (as in Rev_1:4), all of them on purpose according to Milligan ( Revelation in Schaff’s Pop. Comm.) and Heinrici ( Der Litterarische Charakter der neutest. Schriften , p. 85). Radermacher ( Neutestamentliche Grammatik , p. 3) calls it " the most uncultured literary production that has come down to us from antiquity," and one finds frequent parallels to the linguistic peculiarities in later illiterate papyri. J. H. Moulton ( Grammar , Vol. II, Part I, p. 3) says: " Its grammar is perpetually stumbling, its idiom is that of a foreign language, its whole style that of a writer who neither knows nor cares for literary form." But we shall see that the best evidence is for a date in Domitian’s reign and not much later than the Fourth Gospel. It is worth noting that in Act_4:13 Peter and John are both termed by the Sanhedrin agrammatoi kai idiōtai (unlettered and unofficial men). We have seen the possibility that 2 Peter represents Peter’s real style or at least that of a different amanuensis from Silvanus in 1Pe_5:12. It seems clear that the Fourth Gospel underwent careful scrutiny and possibly by the elders in Ephesus (Joh_21:24). If John wrote the Apocalypse while in Patmos and so away from Ephesus, it seems quite possible that here we have John’s own uncorrected style more than in the Gospel and Epistles. There is also the added consideration that the excitement of the visions played a part along with a certain element of intentional variations from normal grammatical sequence. An old man’s excitement would bring back his early style. There are numerous coincidences in vocabulary and style between the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse.

The Unity of the Apocalypse

Repeated efforts have been made to show that the Apocalypse of John is not the work of one man, but a series of Jewish and Christian apocalypses pieced together in a more or less bungling fashion. Spitta argued for this in 1889. Vischer was followed by Harnack in the view there was a Jewish apocalypse worked over by a Christian. Gunkel ( Creation and Chaos , 1895) argued for a secret apocalyptic tradition of Babylonian origin. In 1904 J. Weiss carried on the argument for sources behind the Apocalypse. Many of the Jewish apocalypses do show composite authorship. There was a current eschatology which may have been drawn on without its being a written source. It is in chapter Rev 12 where the supposed Jewish source is urged more vigorously about the woman, the dragon, and the man child. There are no differences in language (vocabulary or grammar) that argue for varied sources. The author may indeed make use of events in the reign of Nero as well as in the reign of Domitian, but the essential unity of the book has stood the test of the keenest criticism.

The Date

There are two chief theories, the Neronic, soon after Nero’s death, the other in the reign of Domitian. Irenaeus is quoted by Eusebius as saying expressly that the Apocalypse of John was written at the close of the reign of Domitian. This testimony is concurred in by Clement of Alexandria, by Origen, by Eusebius, by Jerome. In harmony with this clear testimony the severity of the persecutions suit the later date better than the earlier one. There is, besides, in Rev_17:11. an apparent reference to the story that Nero would return again. The fifth king who is one of the seven is an eighth. There was a Nero legend, to be sure, that Nero either was not dead but was in Parthia, or would be redivivus after death. Juvenal termed Domitian " a bald Nero" and others called Domitian " a second Nero." But in spite of all this Hort, Lightfoot, Sanday, Westcott have argued strongly for the Neronic era. Peake is willing to admit allusions to the Neronic period as Swete is also, but both consider the Domitianic date the best supported. Moffatt considers any earlier date than Domitian " almost impossible."

The Visions

No theory of authorship, sources, or date should ignore the fact that the author claims to have had a series of visions in Patmos. It does not follow that he wrote them down at once and without reflection, but it seems hardly congruous to think that he waited till he had returned from exile in Patmos to Ephesus before writing them out. In fact, there is a note of sustained excitement all through the book, combined with high literary skill in the structure of the book in spite of the numerous grammatical lapses. The series of sevens bear a relation to one another, but more in the fashion of a kaleidoscope than of a chronological panorama. And yet there is progress and power in the arrangement and the total effect. There is constant use of Old Testament language and imagery, almost a mosaic, but without a single formal quotation. There is constant repetition of words and phrases in true Johannine style. Each of the messages to the seven churches picks out a metaphor in the first picture of Christ in chapter 1 and there are frequent other allusions to the language in this picture. In fact there is genuine artistic skill in the structure of the book, in spite of the deflections from ordinary linguistic standards. In the visions and all through the book there is constant use of symbols, as is the fashion in apocalypses like the beasts, the scorpions, the horses, etc. These symbols probably were understood by the first readers of the book, though the key to them is lost to us. Even the numbers in the book (3 ½, 7, 3, 4, 12, 24, 1000) cannot be pressed, though some do so. Even Harnack called the Apocalypse the plainest book in the New Testament, by using Harnack’s key for the symbols.

Theories of Interpretation

They are literally many. There are those who make the book a chart of Christian and even of human history even to the end. These divide into two groups, the continuous and the synchronous. The continuous historical theory takes each vision and symbol in succession as an unfolding panorama. Under the influence of this theory there have been all sorts of fantastic identifications of men and events. The synchronous theory takes the series of sevens (seals, trumpets, bowls) as parallel with each other, each time going up to the end. But in neither case can any satisfactory program be arranged. Another historical interpretation takes it all as over and done, the preterist theory. This theory again breaks into two, one finding the fulfilment all in the Neronic period, the other in the Domitianic era. Something can be said for each view, but neither satisfies the whole picture by any means. Roman Catholic scholars have been fond of the preterist view to escape the Protestant interpretation of the second beast in chapter Rev 13 as papal Rome. There is still another interpretation, the futurist, which keeps the fulfilment all in the future and which can be neither proved nor disproved. There is also the purely spiritual theory which finds no historical allusion anywhere. This again can be neither proved nor disproved. One of the lines of cleavage is the millennium in chapter Rev_20:1-15. Those who take the thousand years literally are either pre-millennialists who look for the second coming of Christ to be followed by a thousand years of personal reign here on earth or the postmillennialists who place the thousand years before the second coming. There are others who turn to 2Pe_3:8 and wonder if, after all, in a book of symbols this thousand years has any numerical value at all. There seems abundant evidence to believe that this apocalypse, written during the stress and storm of Domitian’s persecution, was intended to cheer the persecuted Christians with a view of certain victory at last, but with no scheme of history in view.

A Practical Purpose

So considered, this vision of the Reigning Christ in heaven with a constant eye on the suffering saints and martyrs is a guarantee of certain triumph in heaven and ultimate triumph on earth. The picture of Christ in heaven is a glorious one. He is the Lamb that was slain, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Word of God, the Victor over his enemies, worshipped in heaven like the Father, the Light and Life of men. Instead of trying to fit the various symbols on particular individuals one will do better to see the same application to times of persecution from time to time through the ages. The same Christ who was the Captain of salvation in the time of Domitian is the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith today. The Apocalypse of John gives glimpses of heaven as well as of hell. Hope is the word that it brings to God’s people at all times.

The Readers of the Book

The whole book is sent to the seven churches in Asia (Rev_1:4). There is a special message to each of the seven (chapters Rev 2; 3), suited to the peculiar needs of each church and with a direct reference to the geography and history of each church and city, so Ramsay holds ( The Letters to the Seven Churches ). The book is to be read aloud in each church (Rev_1:3). One can imagine the intense interest that the book would arouse in each church. Children are charmed to hear the Apocalypse read. They do not understand the symbols, but they see the pictures in the unfolding panorama. There were other churches in the Province of Asia besides these seven, but these form a circle from Ephesus where John had lived and wrought. They do present a variety of churches, not necessarily all types, and by no means a chart of seven dispensations of Christian history.

JFB: Revelation (Book Introduction)

AUTHENTICITY.--The author calls himself John (Rev 1:1, Rev 1:4, Rev 1:9; Rev 2:8). JUSTIN MARTYR [Dialogue with Trypho, p. 308] (A.D. 139-161) quotes from the Apocalypse, as John the apostle's work, the prophecy of the millennium of the saints, to be followed by the general resurrection and judgment. This testimony of JUSTIN is referred to also by EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 4.18]. JUSTIN MARTYR, in the early part of the second century, held his controversy with TRYPHO, a learned Jew, at Ephesus, where John had been living thirty or thirty-five years before: he says that "the Revelation had been given to John, one of the twelve apostles of Christ." MELITO, bishop of Sardis (about A.D. 171), one of the seven churches addressed, a successor, therefore, of one of the seven angels, is said by EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 4.26] to have written treatises on the Apocalypse of John. The testimony of the bishop of Sardis is the more impartial, as Sardis is one of the churches severely reproved (Rev 3:1). So also THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH (about A.D. 180), according to EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 4.26], quoted testimonies from the Apocalypse of John. EUSEBIUS says the same of Apollonius, who lived in Asia Minor in the end of the second century. IRENÆUS (about A.D. 180), a hearer of POLYCARP, the disciple of John, and supposed by ARCHBISHOP USHER to be the angel of the Church of Smyrna, is most decided again and again in quoting the Apocalypse as the work of the apostle John [Against Heresies, 4.20.11; 4.21.3; 4.30.4; 5.36.1; 5.30.3; 5.35.2]. In [5.30.1], alluding to the mystical number of the beast, six hundred sixty-six (Rev 13:18), found in all old copies, he says, "We do not hazard a confident theory as to the name of Antichrist; for if it had been necessary that his name should be proclaimed openly at the present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the apocalyptic vision; for it was seen at no long time back, but almost in our generation, towards the end of Domitian's reign." In his work Against Heresies, published ten years after Polycarp's martyrdom, he quotes the Apocalypse twenty times, and makes long extracts from it, as inspired Scripture. These testimonies of persons contemporary with John's immediate successors, and more or less connected with the region of the seven churches to which Revelation is addressed, are most convincing. TERTULLIAN, of North Africa (about A.D. 220), [Against Marcion, 3.14], quotes the apostle John's descriptions in the Apocalypse of the sword proceeding out of the Lord's mouth (Rev 19:15), and of the heavenly city (Rev. 21:1-27). Compare On the Resurrection of the Flesh [27]; A Treatise on the Soul, [8, 9, &c.]; The Prescription Against Heretics, [33]. The MURATORI fragment of the canon (about A.D. 200) refers to John the apostle writing to the seven churches. HIPPOLYTUS, bishop of Ostia, near Rome (about A.D. 240) [On Antichrist, p. 67], quotes Rev. 17:1-18, as the writing of John the apostle. Among HIPPOLYTUS' works, there is specified in the catalogue on his statue, a treatise "on the Apocalypse and Gospel according to John." CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (about A.D. 200) [Miscellanies, 6.13], alludes to the twenty-four seats on which the elders sit as mentioned by John in the Apocalypse (Rev 4:5); also, [Who Is the Rich Man Who Shall Be Saved? 42], he mentions John's return from Patmos to Ephesus on the death of the Roman tyrant. ORIGEN (about A.D. 233), [Commentary on Matthew, in EUSEBIUS Ecclesiastical History, 6.25], mentions John as the author of the Apocalypse, without expressing any doubts as to its authenticity; also, in Commentary on Matthew, [16.6], he quotes Rev 1:9, and says, "John seems to have beheld the Apocalypse in the island of Patmos." VICTORINUS, bishop of Pettau in Pannonia, who suffered martyrdom under Diocletian in A.D. 303, wrote the earliest extant commentary on the Apocalypse. Though the Old Syriac Peschito version does not contain the Apocalypse, yet EPHREM THE SYRIAN (about A.D. 378) frequently quotes the Apocalypse as canonical, and ascribes it to John.

Its canonicity and inspiration (according to a scholium of ANDREAS OF CAPPADOCIA) are attested by PAPIAS, a hearer of John, and associate of POLYCARP. PAPIAS was bishop of Hierapolis, near Laodicea, one of the seven churches. WORDSWORTH conjectures that a feeling of shame, on account of the rebukes of Laodicea in Revelation, may have operated on the Council of Laodicea, so as to omit Revelation from its list of books to be read publicly (?). The Epistle of the churches of Lyons and Vienne to the churches of Asia and Phrygia (in EUSEBIUS, [Ecclesiastical History, 5.1-3]), in the persecution under Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 77) quotes Rev 1:5; Rev 3:14; Rev 14:4; Rev 22:11, as Scripture. CYPRIAN (about A.D. 250) also, in Epistle 13, quotes Rev 2:5 as Scripture; and in Epistle 25 he quotes Rev 3:21, as of the same authority as the Gospel. (For other instances, see ALFORD'S Prolegomena, from whom mainly this summary of evidence has been derived). ATHANASIUS, in his Festival Epistle, enumerates the Apocalypse among the canonical Scriptures, to which none must add, and from which none must take away. JEROME [Epistle to Paulinus] includes in the canon the Apocalypse, adding, "It has as many mysteries as words. All praise falls short of its merits. In each of its words lie hid manifold senses." Thus an unbroken chain of testimony down from the apostolic period confirms its canonicity and authenticity.

The ALOGI [EPIPHANIUS, Heresies, 51] and CAIUS the Roman presbyter [EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 3.28], towards the end of the second and beginning of the third century, rejected John's Apocalypse on mere captious grounds. CAIUS, according to JEROME [On Illustrious Men], about A.D. 210, attributed it to Cerinthus, on the ground of its supporting the millennial reign on earth. DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA mentions many before his time who rejected it because of its obscurity and because it seemed to support Cerinthus' dogma of an earthly and carnal kingdom; whence they attributed it to Cerinthus. This DIONYSIUS, scholar of ORIGEN, and bishop of Alexandria (A.D. 247), admits its inspiration (in EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 7.10]), but attributes it to some John distinct from John the apostle, on the ground of its difference of style and character, as compared with John's Gospel and Epistle, as also because the name John is several times mentioned in the Apocalypse, which is always kept back in both the Gospel and Epistle; moreover, neither does the Epistle make any allusion to the Apocalypse, nor the Apocalypse to the Epistle; and the style is not pure Greek, but abounds in barbarisms and solecisms. EUSEBIUS wavers in opinion [Ecclesiastical History, 24.39] as to whether it is, or is not, to be ranked among the undoubtedly canonical Scriptures. His antipathy to the millennial doctrine would give an unconscious bias to his judgment on the Apocalypse. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (A.D. 386), [Catechetical Lectures, 4.35,36], omits the Apocalypse in enumerating the New Testament Scriptures to be read privately as well as publicly. "Whatever is not read in the churches, that do not even read by thyself; the apostles and ancient bishops of the Church who transmitted them to us were far wiser than thou art." Hence, we see that, in his day, the Apocalypse was not read in the churches. Yet in Catechetical Lectures, 1.4 he quotes Rev 2:7, Rev 2:17; and in Catechetical Lectures, 1; 15.13 he draws the prophetical statement from Rev 17:11, that the king who is to humble the three kings (Dan 7:8, Dan 7:20) is the eighth king. In Catechetical Lectures, 15 and 27, he similarly quotes from Rev 12:3-4. ALFORD conjectures that CYRIL had at some time changed his opinion, and that these references to the Apocalypse were slips of memory whereby he retained phraseology which belonged to his former, not his subsequent views. The sixtieth canon (if genuine) of the Laodicean Council in the middle of the fourth century omits the Apocalypse from the canonical books. The Eastern Church in part doubted, the Western Church, after the fifth century, universally recognized, the Apocalypse. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA [On Worship, 146], though implying the fact of some doubting its genuineness, himself undoubtedly accepts it as the work of St. John. ANDREAS OF CÆSAREA, in Cappadocia, recognized as genuine and canonical, and wrote the first entire and connected commentary on, the Apocalypse. The sources of doubt seem to have been, (1) the antagonism of many to the millennium, which is set forth in it; (2) its obscurity and symbolism having caused it not to be read in the churches, or to be taught to the young. But the most primitive tradition is unequivocal in its favor. In a word, the objective evidence is decidedly for it; the only arguments against it seem to have been subjective.

The personal notices of John in the Apocalypse occur Rev 1:1, Rev 1:4, Rev 1:9; Rev 22:8. Moreover, the writer's addresses to the churches of Proconsular Asia (Rev 2:1) accord with the concurrent tradition, that after John's return from his exile in Patmos, at the death of Domitian, under Nerva, he resided for long, and died at last in Ephesus, in the time of Trajan [EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 3.20,23]. If the Apocalypse were not the inspired work of John, purporting as it does to be an address from their superior to the seven churches of Proconsular Asia, it would have assuredly been rejected in that region; whereas the earliest testimonies in those churches are all in its favor. One person alone was entitled to use language of authority such as is addressed to the seven angels of the churches--namely, John, as the last surviving apostle and superintendent of all the churches. Also, it accords with John's manner to assert the accuracy of his testimony both at the beginning and end of his book (compare Rev 1:2-3, and Rev 22:8, with Joh 1:14; Joh 21:24; 1Jo 1:1-2). Again, it accords with the view of the writer being an inspired apostle that he addresses the angels or presidents of the several churches in the tone of a superior addressing inferiors. Also, he commends the Church of Ephesus for trying and convicting "them which say they are apostles, and are not," by which he implies his own undoubted claim to apostolic inspiration (Rev 2:2), as declaring in the seven epistles Christ's will revealed through him.

As to the difference of style, as compared with the Gospel and Epistle, the difference of subject in part accounts for it, the visions of the seer, transported as he was above the region of sense, appropriately taking a form of expression abrupt, and unbound by the grammatical laws which governed his writings of a calmer and more deliberate character. Moreover, as being a Galilean Hebrew, John, in writing a Revelation akin to the Old Testament prophecies, naturally reverted to their Hebraistic style. ALFORD notices, among the features of resemblance between the styles of the Apocalypse and John's Gospel and Epistle: (1) the characteristic appellation of our Lord, peculiar to John exclusively, "the Word of God" (Rev 19:13; compare Joh 1:1; 1Jo 1:1). (2) the phrase, "he that overcometh" (Rev 2:7, Rev 2:11, Rev 2:17; Rev 3:5, Rev 3:12, Rev 3:21; Rev 12:11; Rev 15:2; Rev 17:14; Rev 21:7; compare Joh 16:33 1Jo 2:13-14; 1Jo 4:4; 1Jo 5:4-5). (3) The Greek term (alethinos) for "true," as opposed to that which is shadowy and unreal (Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14; Rev 6:10; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:2, Rev 19:9, Rev 19:11; Rev 21:5; Rev 22:6). This term, found only once in Luke (Luk 16:11), four times in Paul (1Th 1:9; Heb 8:2; Heb 9:24; Heb 10:22), is found nine times in John's Gospel (Joh 1:9; Joh 4:23, Joh 4:37; Joh 6:32; Joh 7:28; Joh 8:16; Joh 15:1 Joh 17:3; Joh 19:3, Joh 19:5), twice in John's First Epistle (1Jo 2:8; 1Jo 5:20), and ten times in Revelation (Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14; Rev 6:10; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:2, Rev 19:9, Rev 19:11; Rev 21:5 Rev 22:6). (4) The Greek diminutive for "Lamb" (arnion, literally, "lambkin") occurs twenty-nine times in the Apocalypse, and the only other place where it occurs is Joh 21:15. In John's writings alone is Christ called directly "the Lamb" (Joh 1:29, Joh 1:36). In 1Pe 1:19, He is called "as a lamb without blemish," in allusion to Isa 53:7. So the use of "witness," or "testimony" (Rev 1:2, Rev 1:9; Rev 6:9; Rev 11:7, &c.; compare Joh 1:7-8, Joh 1:15, Joh 1:19, Joh 1:32; 1Jo 1:2; 1Jo 4:14; 1Jo 5:6-11). "Keep the word," or "commandments" (Rev 3:8, Rev 3:10; Rev 12:17; compare Joh 8:51, Joh 8:55; Joh 14:15). The assertion of the same thing positively and negatively (Rev 2:2, Rev 2:6, Rev 2:8, Rev 2:13; Rev 3:8, Rev 3:17-18; compare Joh 1:3, Joh 1:6-7, Joh 1:20; 1Jo 2:27-28). Compare also 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27 with Rev 3:18, as to the spiritual anointing. The seeming solecisms of style are attributable to that,inspired elevation which is above mere grammatical rules, and are designed to arrest the reader's attention by the peculiarity of the phrase, so as to pause and search into some deep truth lying beneath. The vivid earnestness of the inspired writer, handling a subject so transcending all others, raises him above all servile adherence to ordinary rules, so that at times he abruptly passes from one grammatical construction to another, as he graphically sets the thing described before the eye of the reader. This is not due to ignorance of grammar, for he "has displayed a knowledge of grammatical rules in other much more difficult constructions" [WINER]. The connection of thought is more attended to than mere grammatical connection. Another consideration to be taken into account is that two-fifths of the whole being the recorded language of others, he moulds his style accordingly. Compare TREGELLES' Introduction to Revelation from Heathen Authorities.

TREGELLES well says [New Testament Historic Evidence], "There is no book of the New Testament for which we have such clear, ample, and numerous testimonies in the second century as we have in favor of the Apocalypse. The more closely the witnesses were connected with the apostle John (as was the case with IRENÆUS), the more explicit is their testimony. That doubts should prevail in after ages must have originated either in ignorance of the earlier testimony, or else from some supposed intuition of what an apostle ought to have written. The objections on the ground of internal style can weigh nothing against the actual evidence. It is in vain to argue, a priori, that John could not have written this book when we have the evidence of several competent witnesses that he did write it."

RELATION OF THE APOCALYPSE TO THE REST OF THE CANON.--GREGORY OF NYSSA [tom. 3, p. 601], calls Revelation "the last book of grace." It completes the volume of inspiration, so that we are to look for no further revelation till Christ Himself shall come. Appropriately the last book completing the canon was written by John, the last survivor of the apostles. The New Testament is composed of the historical books, the Gospels and Acts, the doctrinal Epistles, and the one prophetical book, Revelation. The same apostle wrote the last of the Gospels, and probably the last of the Epistles, and the only prophetical book of the New Testament. All the books of the New Testament had been written, and were read in the Church assemblies, some years before John's death. His life was providentially prolonged that he might give the final attestation to Scripture. About the year A.D. 100, the bishops of Asia (the angels of the seven churches) came to John at EPHESUS, bringing him copies of the three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and desired of him a statement of his apostolical judgment concerning them; whereupon he pronounced them authentic, genuine, and inspired, and at their request added his own Gospel to complete the fourfold aspect of the Gospel of Christ (compare MURATORI [Fragment on the Canon of Scripture]; EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.24]; JEROME [Commentary on Matthew]; VICTORINUS on the Apocalypse; THEODORET [Ecclesiastical History, 39]). A Greek divine, quoted in ALLATIUS, calls Revelation "the seal of the whole Bible." The canon would be incomplete without Revelation. Scripture is a complete whole, its component books, written in a period ranging over one thousand five hundred years, being mutually connected. Unity of aim and spirit pervades the entire, so that the end is the necessary sequence of the middle, and the middle of the beginning. Genesis presents before us man and his bride in innocence and blessedness, followed by man's fall through Satan's subtlety, and man's consequent misery, his exclusion from Paradise and its tree of life and delightful rivers. Revelation presents, in reverse order, man first liable to sin and death, but afterwards made conqueror through the blood of the Lamb; the first Adam and Eve, represented by the second Adam, Christ, and the Church. His spotless bride, in Paradise, with free access to the tree of life and the crystal water of life that flows from the throne of God. As Genesis foretold the bruising of the serpent's head by the woman's seed (Gen 3:15), so Revelation declares the final accomplishment of that prediction (Rev. 19:1-20:15).

PLACE AND TIME OF WRITING.--The best authorities among the Fathers state that John was exiled under Domitian (IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 5; 30]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA; EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.20]). VICTORINUS says that he had to labor in the mines of Patmos. At Domitian's death, A.D. 95, he returned to Ephesus under the Emperor Nerva. Probably it was immediately after his return that he wrote, under divine inspiration, the account of the visions vouchsafed to him in Patmos (Rev 1:2, Rev 1:9). However, Rev 10:4 seems to imply that he wrote the visions immediately after seeing them. Patmos is one of the Sporades. Its circumference is about thirty miles. "It was fitting that when forbidden to go beyond certain bounds of the earth's lands, he was permitted to penetrate the secrets of heaven" [BEDE, Explanation of the Apocalypse on chap. 1]. The following arguments favor an earlier date, namely, under Nero: (1) EUSEBIUS [Demonstration of the Gospel] unites in the same sentence John's banishment with the stoning of James and the beheading of Paul, which were under Nero. (2) CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA'S'S story of the robber reclaimed by John, after he had pursued, and with difficulty overtaken him, accords better with John then being a younger man than under Domitian, when he was one hundred years old. Arethas, in the sixth century, applies the sixth seal to the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), adding that the Apocalypse was written before that event. So the Syriac version states he was banished by Nero the Cæsar. Laodicea was overthrown by an earthquake (A.D. 60) but was immediately rebuilt, so that its being called "rich and increased with goods" is not incompatible with this book having been written under the Neronian persecution (A.D. 64). But the possible allusions to it in Heb 10:37; compare Rev 1:4, Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8; Rev 22:12; Heb 11:10; compare Rev 21:14; Heb 12:22-23; compare Rev 14:1; Heb 8:1-2; compare Rev 11:19; Rev 15:5; Rev 21:3; Heb 4:12; compare Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12, Rev 2:16; Rev 19:13, Rev 19:15; Heb 4:9; compare Rev 20:1-15; also 1Pe 1:7, 1Pe 1:13; 1Pe 4:13, with Rev 1:1; 1Pe 2:9 with Rev 5:10; 2Ti 4:8, with Rev 2:26-27; Rev 3:21; Rev 11:18; Eph 6:12, with Rev 12:7-12; Phi 4:3, with Rev 3:5; Rev 13:8; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:12, Rev 20:15; Col 1:18, with Rev 1:5; 1Co 15:52, with Rev 10:7; Rev 11:15-18, make a date before the destruction of Laodicea possible. Cerinthus is stated to have died before John; as then he borrowed much in his Pseudo-Apocalypse from John's, it is likely the latter was at an earlier date than Domitian's reign. See TILLOCH'S Introduction to Apocalypse. But the Pauline benediction (Rev 1:4) implies it was written after Paul's death under Nero.

TO WHAT READERS ADDRESSED.--The inscription states that it is addressed to the seven churches of Asia, that is, Proconsular Asia. John's reason for fixing on the number seven (for there were more than seven churches in the region meant by "Asia," for instance, Magnesia and Tralles) was doubtless because seven is the sacred number implying totality and universality: so it is implied that John, through the medium of the seven churches, addresses in the Spirit the Church of all places and ages. The Church in its various states of spiritual life or deadness, in all ages and places, is represented by the seven churches, and is addressed with words of consolation or warning accordingly. Smyrna and Philadelphia alone of the seven are honored with unmixed praise, as faithful in tribulation and rich in good works. Heresies of a decided kind had by this time arisen in the churches of Asia, and the love of many had waxed cold, while others had advanced to greater zeal, and one had sealed his testimony with his blood.

OBJECT.--It begins with admonitory addresses to the seven churches from the divine Son of man, whom John saw in vision, after a brief introduction which sets forth the main subject of the book, namely, to "show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass" (the first through third chapters). From the fourth chapter to the end is mainly prophecy, with practical exhortations and consolations, however, interspersed, similar to those addressed to the seven churches (the representatives of the universal Church of every age), and so connecting the body of the book with its beginning, which therefore forms its appropriate introduction. Three schools of interpreters exist: (1) The Preterists, who hold that almost the whole has been fulfilled. (2) The Historical Interpreters, who hold that it comprises the history of the Church from John's time to the end of the world, the seals being chronologically succeeded, by the trumpets and the trumpets by the vials. (3) The Futurists, who consider almost the whole as yet future, and to be fulfilled immediately before Christ's second coming. The first theory was not held by any of the earliest Fathers, and is only held now by Rationalists, who limit John's vision to things within his own horizon, pagan Rome's persecutions of Christians, and its consequently anticipated destruction. The Futurist school is open to this great objection: it would leave the Church of Christ unprovided with prophetical guidance or support under her fiery trials for 1700 or 1800 years. Now God has said, "Surely He will do nothing, but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants the prophets" (Amo 3:7). The Jews had a succession of prophets who guided them with the light of prophecy: what their prophets were to them, that the apocalyptic Scriptures have been, and are, to us.

ALFORD, following ISAAC WILLIAMS, draws attention to the parallel connection between the Apocalypse and Christ's discourse on the Mount of Olives, recorded in Mat. 24:4-28. The seals plainly bring us down to the second coming of Christ, just as the trumpets also do (compare Rev 6:12-17; Rev 8:1, &c.; Rev 11:15), and as the vials also do (Rev 16:17): all three run parallel, and end in the same point. Certain "catchwords" (as WORDSWORTH calls them) connect the three series of symbols together. They do not succeed one to the other in historical and chronological sequence, but move side by side, the subsequent series filling up in detail the same picture which the preceding series had drawn in outline. So VICTORINUS (on Rev 7:2), the earliest commentator on the Apocalypse, says, "The order of the things said is not to be regarded, since often the Holy Spirit, when He has run to the end of the last time, again returns to the same times, and supplies what He has less fully expressed." And PRIMASIUS [Commentary on the Apocalypse], "In the trumpets he gives a description by a pleasing repetition, as is his custom."

At the very beginning, John hastens, by anticipation (as was the tendency of all the prophets), to the grand consummation. Rev 1:7, "Behold, He cometh with clouds," &c. Rev 1:8, Rev 1:17, "I am the beginning and the ending . . . the first and the last." So the seven epistles exhibit the same anticipation of the end. Rev 3:12, "Him that overcometh, I will write upon Him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven"; compare at the close, Rev 21:2. So also Rev 2:28, "I will give him the morning star"; compare at the close, Rev 22:16, "I am the bright and morning star."

Again, the earthquake that ensues on the opening of the sixth seal is one of the catchwords, that is, a link connecting chronologically this sixth seal with the sixth trumpet (Rev 9:13; Rev 11:13): compare also the seventh vial, Rev 16:17-18. The concomitants of the opening of the sixth seal, it is plain, in no full and exhaustive sense apply to any event, save the terrors which shall overwhelm the ungodly just before the coming of the Judge.

Again, the beast out of the bottomless pit (Rev 11:7), between the sixth and seventh trumpets, connects this series with the section, twelfth through fourteenth chapters, concerning the Church and her adversaries.

Again, the sealing of the 144,000 under the sixth seal connects this seal with the section, the twelfth through fourteenth chapters.

Again, the loosing of the four winds by the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, under the sixth seal, answers to the loosing of the four angels at the Euphrates, under the sixth trumpet.

Moreover, links occur in the Apocalypse connecting it with the Old Testament. For instance, the "mouth speaking great things" (Dan 7:8 Rev 13:5), connects the beast that blasphemes against God, and makes war against the saints, with the little horn (Dan 7:21; Rev 13:6-7), or at last king, who, arising after the ten kings, shall speak against the Most High, and wear out the saints (Dan 7:25); also, compare the "forty-two months" (Rev 13:5), or "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (Rev 12:6), with the "time, times, and the dividing of time," of Dan 7:25. Moreover, the "forty-two months," Rev 11:2, answering to Rev 12:6; Rev 13:5, link together the period under the sixth trumpet to the section, Rev. 12:1-14:20.

AUBERLEN observes, "The history of salvation is mysteriously governed by holy numbers. They are the scaffolding of the organic edifice. They are not merely outward indications of time, but indications of nature and essence. Not only nature, but history, is based in numbers. Scripture and antiquity put numbers as the fundamental forms of things, where we put ideas." As number is the regulator of the relations and proportions of the natural world, so does it enter most frequently into the revelations of the Apocalypse, which sets forth the harmonies of the supernatural, the immediately Divine. Thus the most supernatural revelation leads us the farthest into the natural, as was to be expected, seeing the God of nature and of revelation is one. Seven is the number for perfection (compare Rev 1:4; Rev 4:5, the seven Spirits before the throne; also, Rev 5:6, the Lamb's seven horns and seven eyes). Thus the seven churches represent the Church catholic in its totality. The seven seals (Rev 5:1), the seven trumpets (Rev 8:2), and the seven vials (Rev 17:1), are severally a complete series each in itself, fulfilling perfectly the divine course of judgments. Three and a half implies a number opposed to the divine (seven), but broken in itself, and which, in the moment of its highest triumph, is overwhelmed by judgment and utter ruin. Four is the number of the world's extension; seven is the number of God's revelation in the world. In the four beasts of Daniel (Dan 7:3) there is a recognition of some power above them, at the same time that there is a mimicry of the four cherubs of Ezekiel (Eze 10:9), the heavenly symbols of all creation in its due subjection to God (Rev 4:6-8). So the four corners of the earth, the four winds, the four angels loosed from the Euphrates, and Jerusalem lying "foursquare" (Rev 21:16), represent world-wide extension. The sevenfoldness of the Spirits on the part of God corresponds with the fourfold cherubim on the part of the created. John, seeing more deeply into the essentially God-opposed character of the world, presents to us, not the four beasts of Daniel, but the seven heads of the beast, whereby it arrogates to itself the sevenfold perfection of the Spirits of God; at the same time that, with characteristic self-contradiction, it has ten horns, the number peculiar to the world power. Its unjust usurpation of the sacred number seven is marked by the addition of an eighth to the seven heads, and also by the beast's own number, six hundred sixty-six, which in units, tens, and hundreds, verges upon, but falls short of, seven. The judgments on the world are complete in six: after the sixth seal and the sixth trumpet, there is a pause. When seven comes, there comes "the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ." Six is the number of the world given to judgment. Moreover, six is half of twelve, as three and a half is the half of seven. Twelve is the number of the Church: compare the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve stars on the woman's head (Rev 12:1), the twelve gates of new Jerusalem (Rev 21:12, Rev 21:21). Six thus symbolizes the world broken, and without solid foundation. Twice twelve is the number of the heavenly elders; twelve times twelve thousand the number of the sealed elect (Rev 7:4): the tree of life yields twelve manner of fruits. Doubtless, besides this symbolic force, there is a special chronological meaning in the numbers; but as yet, though a commanded subject of investigation, they have received no solution which we can be sure is the true one. They are intended to stimulate reverent inquiry, not to gratify idle speculative curiosity; and when the event shall have been fulfilled, they will show the divine wisdom of God, who ordered all things in minutely harmonious relations, and left neither the times nor the ways haphazard.

The arguments for the year-day theory are as follows: Dan 9:24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon," where the Hebrew may be seventy sevens; but MEDE observes, the Hebrew word means always seven of days, and never seven of years (Lev 12:5; Deu 16:9-10, Deu 16:16). Again, the number of years' wandering of the Israelites was made to correspond to the number of days in which the spies searched the land, namely, forty: compare "each day for a year," Num 14:33-34. So in Eze 4:5-6, "I have laid up on thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days . . . forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year." John, in Revelation itself, uses days in a sense which can hardly be literal. Rev 2:10, "Ye shall have tribulation ten days": the persecution of ten years recorded by EUSEBIUS seems to correspond to it. In the year-day theory there is still quite enough of obscurity to exercise the patience and probation of faith, for we cannot say precisely when the 1260 years begin: so that this theory is quite compatible with Christ's words, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man" [Mat 24:36; Mar 13:32]. However, it is a difficulty in this theory that "a thousand years," in Rev 20:6-7, can hardly mean one thousand by three hundred sixty days, that is, three hundred sixty thousand years. The first resurrection there must be literal, even as Rev 20:5 must be taken literally, "the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Rev 20:5). To interpret the former spiritually would entail the need of interpreting the latter so, which would be most improbable; for it would imply that "the rest of the (spiritually) dead lived not (spiritually)" until the end of the thousand years, and then that they did come spiritually to life. 1Co 15:23, "they that are Christ's at His coming," confirms the literal view.

JFB: Revelation (Outline)

• TITLE: SOURCE AND OBJECT OF THIS REVELATION: BLESSING ON THE READER AND KEEPER OF IT, AS THE TIME IS NEAR: INSCRIPTION TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES: APOSTOLIC GREETING: KEYNOTE, "BEHOLD HE COMETH" (Compare at the close, Rev 22:20, "Surely I come quickly"): INTRODUCTORY VISION OF THE SON OF MAN IN GLORY, AMIDST THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS, WITH SEVEN STARS IN HIS RIGHT HAND. (Rev. 1:1-20)
• EPISTLES TO EPHESUS, SMYRNA, PERGAMOS, THYATIRA. (Rev. 2:1-29)
• THE EPISTLES TO SARDIS, PHILADELPHIA, AND LAODICEA. (Rev. 3:1-22)
• VISION OF GOD'S THRONE IN HEAVEN; THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS; THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES. (Rev 4:1-11)
• THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS: NONE WORTHY TO OPEN IT BUT THE LAMB: HE TAKES IT AMIDST THE PRAISES OF THE REDEEMED, AND OF THE WHOLE HEAVENLY HOST. (Rev 5:1-14)
• THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SIX OF THE SEVEN SEALS. (Rev. 6:1-17)
• SEALING OF THE ELECT OF ISRAEL. THE COUNTLESS MULTITUDE OF THE GENTILE ELECT. (Rev. 7:1-17)
• SEVENTH SEAL. PREPARATION FOR THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. THE FIRST FOUR AND THE CONSEQUENT PLAGUES. (Rev 8:1-13)
• THE FIFTH TRUMPET: THE FALLEN STAR OPENS THE ABYSS WHENCE ISSUE LOCUSTS. THE SIXTH TRUMPET. FOUR ANGELS AT THE EUPHRATES LOOSED. (Rev. 9:1-21) The last three trumpets of the seven are called, from Rev 8:13, the woe-trumpets.
• VISION OF THE LITTLE BOOK. (Rev 10:1-11)
• MEASUREMENT OF THE TEMPLE. THE TWO WITNESSES' TESTIMONY: THEIR DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION: THE EARTHQUAKE: THE THIRD WOE: THE SEVENTH TRUMPET USHERS IN CHRIST'S KINGDOM. THANKSGIVING OF THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS. (Rev. 11:1-19)
• VISION OF THE WOMAN, HER CHILD, AND THE PERSECUTING DRAGON. (Rev. 12:1-17) This episode (Rev. 12:1-15:8) describes in detail the persecution of Israel and the elect Church by the beast, which had been summarily noticed, Rev 11:7-10, and the triumph of the faithful, and torment of the unfaithful. So also the sixteenth through twentieth chapters are the description in detail of the judgment on the beast, &c., summarily noticed in Rev 11:13, Rev 11:18. The beast in Rev 12:3, &c., is shown not to be alone, but to be the instrument in the hand of a greater power of darkness, Satan. That this is so, appears from the time of the eleventh chapter being the period also in which the events of the twelfth and thirteenth chapters take place, namely, 1260 days (Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14; Rev 13:5; compare Rev 11:2-3).
• VISION OF THE BEAST THAT CAME OUT OF THE SEA: THE SECOND BEAST, OUT OF THE EARTH, EXERCISING THE POWER OF THE FIRST BEAST, AND CAUSING THE EARTH TO WORSHIP HIM. (Rev. 13:1-18)
• THE LAMB SEEN ON ZION WITH THE 144,000. THEIR SONG. THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED BEFORE THE END BY ONE ANGEL: THE FALL OF BABYLON, BY ANOTHER: THE DOOM OF THE BEAST WORSHIPPERS, BY A THIRD. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD IN THE LORD. THE HARVEST. THE VINTAGE. (Rev. 14:1-20)
• THE LAST SEVEN VIALS OF PLAGUES: SONG OF THE VICTORS OVER THE BEAST. (Rev 15:1-8)
• THE SEVEN VIALS AND THE CONSEQUENT PLAGUES. (Rev. 16:1-21)
• THE HARLOT BABYLON'S GAUD: THE BEAST ON WHICH SHE RIDES, HAVING SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS, SHALL BE THE INSTRUMENT OF JUDGMENT ON HER. (Rev. 17:1-18)
• BABYLON'S FALL: GOD'S PEOPLE CALLED OUT OF HER: THE KINGS AND MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH MOURN, WHILE THE SAINTS REJOICE AT HER FALL. (Rev. 18:1-24)
• THE CHURCH'S THANKSGIVING IN HEAVEN FOR THE JUDGMENT ON THE HARLOT. THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB: THE SUPPER: THE BRIDE'S PREPARATION: JOHN IS FORBIDDEN TO WORSHIP THE ANGEL: THE LORD AND HIS HOSTS COME FORTH FOR WAR: THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE: THE KINGS AND THEIR FOLLOWERS SLAIN BY THE SWORD OUT OF CHRIST'S MOUTH. (Rev. 19:1-21) As in the case of the opening of the prophecy, Rev 4:8; Rev 5:9, &c.; so now, at one of the great closing events seen in vision, the judgment on the harlot (described in Rev. 18:1-24), there is a song of praise in heaven to God: compare Rev 7:10, &c., toward the close of the seals, and Rev 11:15-18, at the close of the trumpets: Rev 15:3, at the saints' victory over the beast.
• SATAN BOUND, AND THE FIRST-RISEN SAINTS REIGN WITH CHRIST, A THOUSAND YEARS; SATAN LOOSED, GATHERS THE NATIONS, GOG AND MAGOG, ROUND THE CAMP OF THE SAINTS, AND IS FINALLY CONSIGNED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE; THE GENERAL RESURRECTION AND LAST JUDGMENT. (Rev 20:1-15) The destruction of his representatives, the beast and the false prophet, to whom he had given his power, throne, and authority, is followed by the binding of Satan himself for a thousand years.
• THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH: NEW JERUSALEM OUT OF HEAVEN. (Rev. 21:1-27)
• THE RIVER OF LIFE: THE TREE OF LIFE: THE OTHER BLESSEDNESSES OF THE REDEEMED. JOHN FORBIDDEN TO WORSHIP THE ANGEL. NEARNESS OF CHRIST'S COMING TO FIX MAN'S ETERNAL STATE. TESTIMONY OF JESUS, HIS SPIRIT, AND THE BRIDE, ANY ADDITION TO WHICH, OR SUBTRACTION FROM WHICH, SHALL BE ETERNALLY PUNISHED. CLOSING BENEDICTION. (Rev. 22:1-21)

TSK: Revelation (Book Introduction)

The obscurity of this prophecy, which has been urged against its genuineness, necessarily results from the highly figurative and symbolical language in which it is delivered, and is, in fact, a strong internal proof of its authenticity and divine original. " For it is a part of this prophecy," as Sir Isaac Newton justly remarks, " that it should not be understood before the last age of the world; and therefore it makes for the credit of the prophecy that it is not yet understood. The folly of interpreters has been to foretell times and things by this prophecy, as if God designed to make them prophets. By this rashness they have not only exposed themselves, but brought the prophecy also into contempt. The design of God was much otherwise. He gave this, and the prophecies of the Old Testament, not to gratify men’s curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things, but that, after that they were fulfilled, they might be interpreted by the event; and his own providence, not the interpreter’s, be then manifested thereby to the world. For the event of things, predicted many ages before, will then be a convincing argument that the world is governed by Providence. For, as the few and obscure prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming were for setting up the Christian religion, which all nations have since corrupted, so the many and clear prophecies concerning the things to be done at Christ’s second coming, are not only for predicting, but also for effecting a recovery and re-establishment of the long-lost truth, and setting up a kingdom wherein dwells righteousness. The event will prove the Apocalypse; and this prophecy, thus proved and understood, will open the old prophets; and all together will make known the true religion, and establish it. There is already so much of the prophecy fulfilled, that as many as will take pains in this study may see sufficient instances of God’s promise; but then, the signal revolutions predicted by all the holy prophets, will at once both turn men’s eyes upon considering the predictions, and plainly interpret them. Till then we must content ourselves with interpreting what hath already been fulfilled." And, as Mr. Weston observes, " if we were in possession of a complete and particular history of Asia, not only of great events, without person or place, names or dates, but of the exactest biography, geography, topography, and chronology, we might, perhaps, still be able to explain and appropriate more circumstances recorded in the Revelation, under the emperors of the East and the West, and in Arabia, Persia, Tartary, and Asia, the seat of the most important revolutions with which the history of Christianity has ever been interwoven and closely connected." History is the great interpreter of prophecy. " Prophecy is, as I may say," observes Bp. Newton, " history anticipated and contracted; history is prophecy accomplished and dilated; and the prophecies of Scripture contain the fate of the most considerable nations, and the substance of the most memorable transactions in the world, from the earliest to the latest times. Daniel and St. John, with regard to those latter times, are more copious and particular than the other prophets. They exhibit a series and succession of the most important events from the first of the four great empires to the consummation of all things. Their prophecies may really be said to be a summary of the history of the world; and the history of the world is the best comment upon their prophecies....and the more you know of ancient and modern times, and the farther you search into the truth of history, the more you will be satisfied of the truth of prophecy." The Revelation was designed to supply the place of that continued succession of prophets, which demonstrated the continued providence of God to the patriarchal and Jewish churches. " The majority of commentators on the Apocalypse," says Mr. Townsend, " generally acted on these principles of interpretation. They discover in this Book certain predictions of events which were fulfilled soon after they were announced; they trace in the history of later years various coincidences, which so fully agree with the various parts of the Apocalypse, that they are justly entitled to consider them as the fulfilment of its prophecies; and, by thus tracing the one God of revelation through the clouds of the dark ages, through the storms of revolutions and wars, through the mighty convulsions which at various periods have agitated the world, their interpretations, even when they are most contradictory, when they venture to speculate concerning the future, are founded on so much undoubted truth that they have materially confirmed the wavering faith of thousands. Clouds and darkness must cover the brightness of the throne of God, till it shall please him to enable us to bear the brighter beams of his glory. In the mean time, we trace his footsteps in the sea of the Gentile world, his path in the mighty waters of the ambitions and clashing passions of man. We rejoice to anticipate the day when the bondage of Rome, which would perpetuate the intellectual and spiritual slavery of man, shall be overthrown, and day-spring of united knowledge and holiness bless the world."

TSK: Revelation 6 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Rev 6:1, The opening of the seals in order, and what followed thereupon, containing a prophecy to the end of the world.

Poole: Revelation 6 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 6

MHCC: Revelation (Book Introduction)

The Book of the Revelation of St. John consists of two principal divisions. 1. Relates to " the things which are," that is, the then present state of the church, and contains the epistle of John to the seven churches, and his account of the appearance of the Lord Jesus, and his direction to the apostle to write what he beheld, Rev 1:9-20. Also the addresses or epistles to seven churches of Asia. These, doubtless, had reference to the state of the respective churches, as they then existed, but contain excellent precepts and exhortations, commendations and reproofs, promises and threatenings, suitable to instruct the Christian church at all times. 2. Contains a prophecy of " the things which shall be hereafter," and describes the future state of the church, from the time when the apostle beheld the visions here recorded. It is intended for our spiritual improvement; to warn the careless sinner, point out the way of salvation to the awakened inquirer, build up the weak believer, comfort the afflicted and tempted Christian, and, we may especially add, to strengthen the martyr of Christ, under the cruel persecutions and sufferings inflicted by Satan and his followers.

MHCC: Revelation 6 (Chapter Introduction)

(Rev 6:1-8) The opening of the seals, The first, second, third, and fourth.

(Rev 6:9-11) The fifth.

(Rev 6:12-17) The sixth.

Matthew Henry: Revelation (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Revelation of St. John the Divine

It ought to be no prejudice to the credit and authority of this book that it has been rejected by men of corrupt minds, such as Cerdon and Marcion, and doubted of by men of a better character; for this has been the lot of other parts of holy writ, and of the divine Author of the scripture himself. The image and superscription of this book are truly sacred and divine, and the matter of it agreeable with other prophetical books, particularly Ezekiel and Daniel; the church of God has generally received it, and found good counsel and great comfort in it. From the beginning, the church of God has been blessed with prophecy. That glorious prediction of breaking the serpent's head was the stay and support of the patriarchal age; and the many prophecies there were concerning the Messiah to come were the gospel of the Old Testament. Christ himself prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem; and, about the time in which that was accomplished, he entrusted the apostle John with this book of revelation, to deliver it to the church as a prediction of the most important events that should happen to it to the end of time, for the support of the faith of his people and the direction of their hope. It is called the Revelation, because God therein discovers those things which could never have been sifted out by the reasonings of human understanding, those deep things of God which no man knows, but the Spirit of God, and those to whom he reveals them.

Matthew Henry: Revelation 6 (Chapter Introduction)

The book of the divine counsels being thus lodged in the hand of Christ, he loses no time, but immediately enters upon the work of opening the seals and publishing the contents; but this is done in such a manner as still leaves the predictions very abstruse and difficult to be understood. Hitherto the waters of the sanctuary have been as those in Ezekiel's vision, only to the ankles, or to the knees, or to the loins at least; but here they begin to be a river that cannot be passed over. The visions which John saw, the epistles to the churches, the songs of praise, in the two foregoing chapters, had some things dark and hard to be understood; and yet they were rather milk for babes than meat for strong men; but now we are to launch into the deep, and our business is not so much to fathom it as to let down our net to take a draught. We shall only hint at what seems most obvious. The prophecies of this book are divided into seven seals opened, seven trumpets sounding, and seven vials poured out. It is supposed that the opening of the seven seals discloses those providences that concerned the church in the first three centuries, from the ascension of our Lord and Saviour to the reign of Constantine; this was represented in a book rolled up, and sealed in several places, so that, when one seal was opened, you might read so far of it, and so on, till the whole was unfolded. Yet we are not here told what was written in the book, but what John saw in figures enigmatical and hieroglyphic; and it is not for us to pretend to know " the times and seasons which the Father has put in his own power." Inf this chapter six of the seven seals are opened, and the visions attending them are related; the first seal in Rev 6:1, Rev 6:2, the second seal in Rev 6:3, Rev 6:4, the third seal in Rev 6:5, Rev 6:6, the fourth seal in Rev 6:7, Rev 6:8, the fifth seal in Rev 6:9-11, the sixth seal in Rev 6:12, Rev 6:13, etc.

Barclay: Revelation (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF JOHN

The Strange Book

When a student of the New Testament embarks upon the study of the Revelation he feels himself projected into a different world. Here is something quite unlike the rest of the New Testament. Not only is the Revelation different; it is also notoriously difficult for a modern mind to understand. The result is that it has sometimes been abandoned as quite unintelligible and it has sometimes become the playground of religious eccentrics, who use it to map out celestial time-tables of what is to come or find in it evidence for their own eccentricities. One despairing commentator said that there are as many riddles in the Revelation as there are words, and another that the study of the Revelation either finds or leaves a man mad.

Luther would have denied the Revelation a place in the New Testament. Along with James, Jude, Second Peter and Hebrews he relegated it to a separate list at the end of his New Testament. He declared that in it there are only images and visions such as are found nowhere else in the Bible. He complained that, notwithstanding the obscurity of his writing, the writer had the boldness to add threats and promises for those who kept or disobeyed his words, unintelligible though they were. In it, said Luther, Christ is neither taught nor acknowledged; and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is not perceptible in it. Zwingli is equally hostile to the Revelation. "With the Apocalypse," he writes, "we have no concern, for it is not a biblical book.... The Apocalypse has no savour of the mouth or the mind of John. I can, if I so will, reject its testimonies." Most voices have stressed the unintelligibility of the Revelation and not a few have questioned its right to a place in the New Testament.

On the other hand there are those in every generation who have loved this book. T. S. Kepler quotes the verdict of Philip Carrington and makes it his own: "In the case of the Revelation we are dealing with an artist greater than Stevenson or Coleridge or Bach. St. John has a better sense of the right word than Stevenson; he has a greater command of unearthly supernatural loveliness than Coleridge; he has a richer sense of melody and rhythm and composition than Bach.... It is the only masterpiece of pure art in the New Testament.... Its fullness and richness and harmonic variety place it far above Greek tragedy."

We shall no doubt find this book difficult and bewildering; but doubtless, too, we shall find it infinitely worthwhile to wrestle with it until it gives us its blessing and opens its riches to us.

Apocalyptic Literature

In any study of the Revelation we must begin by remembering the basic fact that although unique in the New Testament, it is nonetheless representative of a kind of literature which was the commonest of all between the Old and the New Testaments. The Revelation is commonly called the Apocalypse, being in Greek Apokalupsis. Between the Old and the New Testaments there grew up a great mass of what is called Apocalyptic literature, the product of an indestructible Jewish hope.

The Jews could not forget that they were the chosen people of God. To them that involved the certainty that some day they would arrive at world supremacy. In their early history they looked forward to the coming of a king of Davidline who would unite the nation and lead them to greatness. There was to come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse (Isa_11:1 , Isa_11:10 ). God would raise up a righteous branch for David (Jer_23:5 ). Some day the people would serve David their king (Jer_30:9 ). David would be their shepherd and their king (Eze_34:23 ; Eze_37:24 ). The booth of David would be repaired (Amo_9:11 ); out of Bethlehem there would come a ruler who would be great to the ends of the earth (Mic_5:2-4 ).

But the whole history of Israel gave the lie to these hopes. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom, small enough to begin with, split into two under Rehoboam and Jeroboam and so lost its unity. The northern kingdom, with its capital at Samaria, vanished in the last quarter of the eighth century B.C. before the assault of the Assyrians, never again reappeared in history and is now the lost ten tribes. The southern kingdom, with its capital at Jerusalem, was reduced to slavery and exile by the Babylonians in the early part of the sixth century B.C. It was later the subject state of the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. History for the Jews was a catalogue of disasters from which it became clear that no human deliverer could rescue them.

The Two Ages

Jewish thought stubbornly held to the conviction of the chosenness of the Jews but had to adjust itself to the facts of history. It did so by working out a scheme of history. The Jews divided all time into two ages. There was this present age, which is wholly bad and beyond redemption. For it there can be nothing but total destruction. The Jews, therefore, waited for the end of things as they are. There was the age which is to come which was to be wholly good, the golden age of God in which would be peace, prosperity and righteousness and Godchosen people would at last be vindicated and receive the place that was theirs by right.

How was this present age to become the age which is to come? The Jews believed that the change could never be brought about by human agency and, therefore, looked for the direct intervention of God. He would come striding on to the stage of history to blast this present world out of existence and bring in his golden time. The day of the coming of God was called The Day of the Lord and was to be a terrible time of terror and destruction and judgment which would be the birthpangs of the new age.

All apocalyptic literature deals with these events, the sin of the present age, the terrors of the time between, and the blessings of the time to come. It is entirely composed of dreams and visions of the end. That means that all apocalyptic literature is necessarily cryptic. It is continually attempting to describe the indescribable, to say the unsayable, to paint the unpaintable.

This is further complicated by another fact. It was only natural that these apocalyptic visions should flame the more brightly in the minds of men living under tyranny and oppression. The more some alien power held them down, the more they dreamed of the destruction of that power and of their own vindication. But it would only have worsened the situation, if the oppressing power could have understood these dreams. Such writings would have seemed the works of rebellious revolutionaries. Such books, therefore, were frequently written in code, deliberately couched in language which was unintelligible to the outsider; and there are many cases in which they must remain unintelligible because the key to the code no longer exists. But the more we know about the historical background of such books, the better we can interpret them.

The Revelation

All this is the precise picture of our Revelation. There are any number of Jewish Apocalypses--Enoch, The Sibylline Oracles, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, The Ascension of Isaiah, The Assumption of Moses, The Apocalypse of Baruch, Fourth Ezra. Our Revelation is a Christian Apocalypse. It is the only one in the New Testament, although there were many others which did not gain admission. It is written exactly on the Jewish pattern and follows the basic conception of the two ages. The only difference is that for the day of the Lord it substitutes the coming in power of Jesus Christ. Not only the pattern but the details are the same. The Jewish apocalypses had a standard apparatus of events which were to happen at the last time; these events all have their place in Revelation.

Before we go on to outline that pattern of events, another question arises. Both apocalyptic and prophecy deal with the events which are to come. What, then, is the difference between them?

Apocalyptic And Prophecy

The difference between the prophets and the apocalyptists was very real. There were two main differences, one of message and one of method.

(i) The prophet thought in terms of this present world. His message was often a cry for social, economic and political justice; and was always a summons to obey and serve God within this present world. To the prophet it was this world which was to be reformed and in which Godkingdom would come. This has been expressed by saying that the prophet believed in history. He believed that in the events of history Godpurpose was being worked out. In one sense the prophet was an optimist, for, however sternly he condemned things as they were, he nonetheless believed that they could be mended, if men would accept the will of God. To the apocalyptist the world was beyond mending. He believed, not in the reformation, but in the dissolution of this present world. He looked forward to the creation of a new world, when this one had been shattered by the avenging wrath of God. In one sense, therefore, the apocalyptist was a pessimist, for he did not believe that things as they were could ever be cured. True, he was quite certain that the golden age would come, but only after this world had been destroyed.

(ii) The prophetmessage was spoken; the message of the apocalyptist was always written. Apocalyptic is a literary production. Had it been delivered by word of mouth, men would never have understood it. It is difficult, involved, often unintelligible; it has to be pored over before it can be understood. Further, the prophet always spoke under his own name; all apocalyptic writings--except our New Testament one--are pseudonymous. They are put into the mouths of great ones of the past, like Noah, Enoch, Isaiah, Moses, The Twelve Patriarchs, Ezra and Baruch. There is something pathetic about this. The men who wrote the apocalyptic literature had the feeling that greatness was gone from the earth; they were too self-distrusting to put their names to their works and attributed them to the great figures of the past, thereby seeking to give them an authority greater than their own names could have given. As Julicher put it: "Apocalyptic is prophecy turned senile."

The Apparatus Of Apocalyptic

Apocalyptic literature has a pattern; it seeks to describe the things which will happen at the last times and the blessedness which will follow; and the same pictures occur over and over again. It always, so to speak, worked with the same materials; and these materials find their place in our Book of the Revelation.

(i) In apocalyptic literature the Messiah was a divine, preexistent, otherworldly figure of power and glory, waiting to descend into the world to begin his all-conquering career. He existed in heaven before the creation of the world, before the sun and the stars were made, and he is preserved in the presence of the Almighty (Enoch 48:3, 6; 62:7; 4Ezra 13:25-26). He will come to put down the mighty from their seats, to dethrone the kings of the earth, and to break the teeth of sinners (Enoch 42:2-6; 48:2-9; 62:5-9; 69:26-29). In apocalyptic there was nothing human or gentle about the Messiah; he was a divine figure of avenging power and glory before whom the earth trembled in terror.

(ii) The coming of the Messiah was to be preceded by the return of Elijah who would prepare the way for him (Mal_4:5-6 ). Elijah was to stand upon the hills of Israel, so the Rabbis said, and announce the coming of the Messiah with a voice so great that it would sound from one end of the earth to the other.

(iii) The last terrible times were known as "the travail of the Messiah." The coming of the Messianic age would be like the agony of birth. In the Gospels Jesus is depicted as foretelling the signs of the end and is reported as saying: "All these things are the beginnings of sorrows" (Mat_24:8 ; Mar_13:8 ). The word for sorrows is odinai (G5604), and it literally means birthpangs.

(iv) The last days will be a time of terror. Even the mighty men will cry bitterly (Zep_1:14 ); the inhabitants of the land shall tremble (Joe_2:1 ); men will be affrighted with fear and will seek some place to hide and will find none (Enoch 102:1,3).

(v) The last days will be a time when the world will be shattered, a time of cosmic upheaval when the universe, as men know it, will be disintegrated. The stars will be extinguished; the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood (Isa_13:10 ; Joe_2:30-31 ; Joe_3:15 ). The firmament will crash in ruins; there will be a cataract of raging fire, and creation will become a molten mass (Sibylline Oracles 3: 83-89). The seasons will lose their order, and there will be neither night nor dawn (Sibylline Oracles 3: 796-806).

(vi) The last days will be a time when human relationships will be destroyed. Hatred and enmity will reign upon the earth. Every manhand will be against his neighbour (Zec_14:13 ). Brothers will kill each other; parents will murder their own children; from dawn to sunset they shall slay one another (Enoch 100:1-2). Honour will be turned into shame, and strength into humiliation, and beauty into ugliness. The man of humility will become the man of envy; and passion will hold sway over the man who once was peaceful (Bar 48:31-37).

(vii) The last days will be a time of judgment. God will come like a refinerfire, and who can endure the day of his coming? (Mal_3:1-3 ). It is by the fire and the sword that God will plead with men (Isa_66:15-16 ). The Son of Man will destroy sinners from the earth (Enoch 69:27), and the smell of brimstone will pervade all things (Sibylline Oracles 3: 58-61). The sinners will be burned up as Sodom was long ago (Jubilees 36:10-11).

(viii) In all these visions the Gentiles have their place, but it is not always the same place.

(a) Sometimes the vision is that the Gentiles will be totally destroyed. Babylon will become such a desolation that there will be no place for the wandering Arab to plant his tent among the ruins, no place for the shepherd to graze his sheep; it will be nothing more than a desert inhabited by the beasts (Isa_13:19-22 ). God will tread down the Gentiles in his anger (Isa_63:6 ). The Gentiles will come over in chains to Israel (Isa_45:14 ).

(b) Sometimes there is depicted one last gathering of the Gentiles against Jerusalem, and one last battle in which they are destroyed (Eze_38:14-23 ; Eze_39:1-16 ; Zec_14:1-11 ). The kings of the nations will throw themselves against Jerusalem; they will seek to ravage the shrine of the Holy One; they will place their thrones in a ring round the city, with their infidel people with them; but it will be only for their final destruction (Sibylline Oracles 3: 663-672).

(c) Sometimes there is the picture of the conversion of the Gentiles through Israel. God has given Israel for a light to the Gentiles, that she may be Godsalvation to the ends of the earth (Isa_49:6 ). The isles wait upon God (Isa_51:5 ); the ends of the earth are invited to look to God and be saved (Isa_45:20-22 ). The Son of Man will be a light to the Gentiles (Enoch 48:4-5). Nations shall come from the ends of the earth to Jerusalem to see the glory of God (Wis 17:34).

Of all the pictures in connection with the Gentiles the commonest is that of the destruction of the Gentiles and the exaltation of Israel.

(ix) In the last days the Jews who have been scattered throughout the earth will be ingathered to the Holy City again. They will come back from Assyria and from Egypt and will worship the Lord in his holy mountain (Isa_27:12-13 ). The hills will be removed and the valleys will be filled in, and even the trees will gather to give them shade, as they come back (Bar 5:5-9). Even those who died as exiles in far countries will be brought back.

(x) In the last days the New Jerusalem, which is already prepared in heaven with God (4Ezra 10:44-59; 4Ezra 2Baruch 4Ezra 4:2-6), will come down among men. It will be beautiful beyond compare with foundations of sapphires, and pinnacles of agate, and gates of carbuncles, on borders of pleasant stones (Isa_54:12-13 ; Tob 13:16-17). The glory of the latter house will be greater than the glory of the former (Hag 2:7-9).

(xi) An essential part of the apocalyptic picture of the last days was the resurrection of the dead. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan_12:2-3 ). Sheol and the grave will give back that which has been entrusted to them (Enoch 51:1). The scope of the resurrection of the dead varied. Sometimes it was to apply only to the righteous in Israel; sometimes to all Israel; and sometimes to all men everywhere. Whichever form it took, it is true to say that now for the first time we see emerging a strong hope of a life beyond the grave.

(xii) There were differences as to how long the Messianic kingdom was to last. The most natural--and the most usual--view was to think of it as lasting for ever. The kingdom of the saints is an everlasting kingdom (Dan_7:27 ). Some believed that the reign of the Messiah would last for 400 years. They arrived at this figure from a comparison of Gen_15:13 and Psa_90:15 . In Genesis Abraham is told that the period of affliction of the children of Israel will be 400 years; the psalmistprayer is that God will make the nation glad according to the days wherein he has afflicted them and the years wherein they have seen evil. In the Revelation the view is that there is to be a reign of the saints for a thousand years; then the final battle with the assembled powers of evil; then the golden age of God.

Such were the events which the apocalyptic writers pictured in the last days; and practically all of them find their place in the pictures of the Revelation. To complete the picture we may briefly summarize the blessings of the coming age.

The Blessings Of The Age To Come

(i) The divided kingdom will be united again. The house of Judah will walk again with the house of Israel (Jer_3:18 ; Isa_11:13 ; Hos_1:11 ). The old divisions will be healed and the people of God will be one.

(ii) There will be in the world an amazing fertility. The wilderness will become a field (Isa_32:15 ), it will become like the garden of Eden (Isa_51:3 ); the desert will rejoice and blossom like the crocus (Isa_35:1 ). The earth will yield its fruit ten thousandfold; on each vine will be a thousand branches, on each branch a thousand clusters, in each cluster a thousand grapes, and each grape will give a cor (120 gallons) of wine (2 Baruch 29:5-8). There will be a plenty such as the world has never known and the hungry will rejoice.

(iii) A consistent part of the dream of the new age was that in it all wars would cease. The swords will be beaten into ploughshares and the spears into pruning-hooks (Isa_2:4 ). There will be no sword or battle-din. There will be a common law for all men and a great peace throughout the earth, and king will be friendly with king (Sibylline Oracles 3: 751-760).

(iv) One of the loveliest ideas concerning the new age was that in it there would be no more enmity between the beasts or between man and the beasts. The leopard and the kid, the cow and the bear, the lion and the falling will play and lie down together (Isa_11:6-9 ; Isa_65:25 ). There will be a new covenant between man and the beasts of the field (Hos_2:18 ). Even a child will be able to play where the poisonous reptiles have their holes and their dens (Isa_11:6-9 ; Isa 2Baruch Isa_73:6 ). In all nature there will be a universal reign of friendship in which none will wish to do another any harm.

(v) The coming age will bring the end of weariness, of sorrow and of pain. The people will not sorrow any more (Jer_31:12 ); everlasting joy will be upon their heads (Isa_35:10 ). There will be no such thing as an untimely death (Isa_65:20-22 ); no man will say: "I am sick" (Isa_33:24 ); death will be swallowed up in victory and God will wipe tears from all faces (Isa_25:8 ). Disease will withdraw; anxiety, anguish and lamentation will pass away; childbirth will have no pain; the reaper will not grow weary and the builder will not be toilworn (Bar 73:2-74:4). The age to come will be one when what Virgil called "the tears of things" will be no more.

(vi) The age to come will be an age of righteousness. There will be perfect holiness among men. Mankind will be a good generation, living in the fear of the Lord in the days of mercy (Wis 17:28-49; Wis 18:9-10).

The Revelation is the New Testament representative of all these apocalyptic works which tell of the terrors before the end of time and of the blessings of the age to come; and it uses all the familiar imagery. It may often be difficult and even unintelligible to us, but for the most part it was using pictures and ideas which those who read it would know and understand.

The Author Of The Revelation

(i) The Revelation was written by a man called John. He begins by saying that God sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant John (Rev_1:1 ). He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from John to the Seven Churches in Asia (Rev_1:4 ). He speaks of himself as John the brother and companion in tribulation of those to whom he writes (Rev_1:9 ). "I John," he says, "am he who heard and saw these things" (Rev_22:8 ).

(ii) This John was a Christian who lived in Asia in the same sphere as the Christians of the Seven Churches. He calls himself the brother of those to whom he writes; and he says he too shares in the tribulations through which they are passing (Rev_1:9 ).

(iii) He was most probably a Jew of Palestine who had come to Asia Minor late in life. We can deduce that from the kind of Greek he writes. It is vivid, powerful, and pictorial; but from the point of view of grammar it is easily the worst Greek in the New Testament. He makes mistakes which no schoolboy who knew Greek could make. Greek is certainly not his native language; and it is often clear that he is writing in Greek and thinking in Hebrew. He is steeped in the Old Testament. He quotes it or alludes to it 245 times. These quotations come from about twenty Old Testament books; his favourites are Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Psalms, Exodus, Jeremiah, Zechariah. Not only does he know the Old Testament intimately; he is also familiar with the apocalyptic books written between the Testaments.

(iv) His claim for himself is that he is a prophet, and it is on that fact that he rests his right to speak. The command of the Risen Christ to him is that he must prophesy (Rev_10:11 ). It is through the spirit of prophecy that Jesus gives his witness to the Church (Rev_19:10 ). God is the God of the holy prophets and sends his angel to show his servants what is going to happen in the world (Rev_22:6 ). The angel speaks to him of his brothers the prophets (Rev_22:9 ). His book is characteristically prophecy or the words of prophecy (Rev_22:7 , Rev_22:10 ; Rev_22:18-19 ).

It is here that Johnauthority lies. He does not call himself an apostle, as Paul does when he wishes to underline his right to speak. He has no "official" or administrative position in the Church; he is a prophet. He writes what he sees; and since what he sees comes from God, his word is faithful and true (Rev_1:11 , Rev_1:19 ).

When John was writing, the prophets had a very special place in the Church. He was writing, as we shall see, about A.D. 90. By that time the Church had two kinds of ministry. There was the local ministry; those engaged in it were settled permanently in one congregation, the elders, the deacons and the teachers. And there was the itinerant ministry of those whose sphere of labour was not confined to any one congregation. In it were the apostles, whose writ ran throughout the whole Church; and there were the prophets, who were wandering preachers. The prophets were greatly respected; to question the words of a true prophet was to sin against the Holy Spirit, the Didache says (Rev_11:7 ). The accepted order of service for the celebration of the Eucharist is laid down in the Didache, but at the end comes the sentence: "But allow the prophets to hold the Eucharist as they will" (Rev_10:7 ). The prophets were regarded as uniquely the men of God, and John was a prophet.

(v) It is not likely that he was an apostle. Otherwise he would hardly have so stressed the fact that he was a prophet. Further, he speaks of the apostles as if he was looking back on them as the great foundations of the Church. He speaks of the twelve foundations of the wall of the Holy City and then says, "and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev_21:14 ). He would scarcely have spoken of the apostles like that if he himself was one of them.

This conclusion is rendered even more likely by the title of the book. In the King James and English Revised Versions it is called The Revelation of St. John the Divine. In the Revised Standard Version and in Moffattand in J. B. Phillipsranslations the Divine is omitted, because it is absent from the majority of the oldest Greek manuscripts; but it does go very far back. The Greek is theologos (G2312 and the word is here used in the sense in which we speak of "the Puritan divines" and means, not John the saintly but John the theologian; and the very addition of that title seems to distinguish this John from the John who was the apostle.

As long ago as A.D. 250 Dionysius, the great scholar who was head of the Christian school at Alexandria, saw that it was well nigh impossible that the same man could have written the Revelation and the Fourth Gospel, if for no other reason than that the Greek is so different. The Greek of the Fourth Gospel is simple but correct; the Greek of the Revelation is rugged and vivid, but notoriously incorrect. Further, the writer of the Fourth Gospel studiously avoids any mention of his own name; the John of the Revelation repeatedly mentions it. Still further, the ideas of the two books are different. The great ideas of the Fourth Gospel, light, life, truth and grace, do not dominate the Revelation. At the same time there are enough resemblances in thought and language to make it clear that both books come from the same centre and from the same world of thought.

The Date Of The Revelation

We have two sources which enable us to fix the date.

(i) There is the account which tradition gives to us. The consistent tradition is that John was banished to Patmos in the time of Domitian; that he saw his visions there; at the death of Domitian was liberated and came back to Ephesus; and there set down the visions he had seen. Victorinus, who wrote towards the end of the third century A.D., says in his commentary on the Revelation: "John, when he saw these things, was in the island of Patmos, condemned to the mines by Domitian the Emperor. There, therefore, he saw the revelation... When he was afterwards set free from the mines, he handed down this revelation which he had received from God." Jerome is even more detailed: "In the fourteenth year after the persecution of Nero, John was banished to the island of Patmos, and there wrote the Revelation... Upon the death of Domitian, and upon the repeal of his acts by the senate, because of their excessive cruelty, he returned to Ephesus, when Nerva was emperor." Eusebius says: "The apostle and evangelist John related these things to the Churches, when he had returned from exile in the island after the death of Domitian." Tradition makes it certain that John saw his visions in exile in Patmos; the only thing that is doubtful--and it is not important--is whether he wrote them down during the time of his banishment or when he returned to Ephesus. On this evidence we will not be wrong if we date the Revelation about A.D. 95.

(ii) The second line of evidence is the material in the book. There is a completely new attitude to Rome and to the Roman Empire.

In Acts the tribunal of the Roman magistrate was often the safest refuge of the Christian missionaries against the hatred of the Jews and the fury of the mob. Paul was proud that he was a Roman citizen and again and again claimed the rights to which every Roman citizen was entitled. In Philippi he brought the local magistrates to heel by revealing his citizenship (Act_16:36-40 ). In Corinth Gallio dismissed the complaints against him with impartial Roman justice (Act_18:1-17 ). In Ephesus the Roman authorities were careful for his safety against the rioting mob (Act_19:13-41 ). In Jerusalem the Roman tribune rescued him from what might have become a lynching (Act_21:30-40 ). When the Roman tribune in Jerusalem heard that there was to be an attempt on Paullift on the way to Caesarea, he took every possible step to ensure his safety (Act_23:12-31 ). When Paul despaired of justice in Palestine, he exercised his right as a citizen and appealed direct to Caesar (Act_25:10-11 ). When he wrote to the Romans, he urged upon them obedience to the powers that be, because they were ordained by God and were a terror only to the evil, and not to the good (Rom_13:1-7 ). Peteradvice is exactly the same. Governors and kings are to be obeyed, for their task is given them by God. It is a Christianduty to fear God and honour the emperor (1Pe_2:12-17 ). In writing to the Thessalonians it is likely that Paul points to the power of Rome as the one thing which is controlling the threatening chaos of the world (2Th_2:7 ).

In the Revelation there is nothing but blazing hatred for Rome. Rome is a Babylon, the mother of harlots, drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs (Rev_17:5-6 ). John hopes for nothing but her total destruction.

The explanation of this change in attitude lies in the wide development of Caesar worship which, with its accompanying persecution, is the background of the Revelation.

By the time of the Revelation Caesar worship was the one religion which covered the whole Roman Empire; and it was because of their refusal to conform to its demands that Christians were persecuted and killed. Its essence was that the reigning Roman Emperor, as embodying the spirit of Rome, was divine. Once a year everyone in the Empire had to appear before the magistrates to burn a pinch of incense to the god-head of Caesar and to say: "Caesar is Lord." After he had done that, a man might go away and worship any god or goddess he liked, so long as that worship did not infringe decency and good order; but he must go through this ceremony in which he acknowledged the Emperordivinity.

The reason was very simple. Rome had a vast heterogeneous empire, stretching from one end of the known world to another. It had in it many tongues, races and traditions. The problem was how to weld this varied mass into a self-conscious unity. There is no unifying force like that of a common religion but none of the national religions could conceivably have become universal. Caesar worship could. It was the one common act and belief which turned the Empire into a unity. To refuse to burn the pinch of incense and to say: "Caesar is Lord," was not an act of irreligion; it was an act of political disloyalty. That is why the Romans dealt with the utmost severity with the man who would not say: "Caesar is Lord." And no Christian could give the title Lord to any other than Jesus Christ. This was the centre of his creed.

We must see how this Caesar worship developed and how it was at its peak when the Revelation was written

One basic fact must be noted. Caesar worship was not imposed on the people from above. It arose from the people; it might even be said that it arose in spite of efforts by the early emperors to stop it, or at least to curb it. And it is to be noted that of all the people in the Empire only the Jews were exempt from it.

Caesar worship began as a spontaneous outburst of gratitude to Rome. The people of the provinces well knew what they owed to Rome. Impartial Roman justice had taken the place of capricious and tyrannical oppression. Security had taken the place of insecurity. The great Roman roads spanned the world; and the roads were safe from brigands and the seas were clear of pirates. The pax Romana, the Roman peace, was the greatest thing which ever happened to the ancient world. As Virgil had it, Rome felt her destiny to be "to spare the fallen and to cast down the proud." Life had a new order about it. E. J. Goodspeed writes: "This was the pax Romana. The provincial under Roman sway found himself in a position to conduct his business, provide for his family, send his letters, and make his journeys in security, thanks to the strong hand of Rome."

Caesar worship did not begin with the deification of the Emperor. It began with the deification of Rome. The spirit of the Empire was deified under the name of the goddess Roma. Roma stood for all the strong and benevolent power of the Empire. The first temple to Roma was erected in Smyrna as far back as 195 B.C. It was no great step to think of the spirit of Rome being incarnated in one man, the Emperor. The worship of the Emperor began with the worship of Julius Caesar after his death. In 29 B.C. the Emperor Augustus granted to the provinces of Asia and Bithynia permission to erect temples in Ephesus and Nicaea for the joint worship of the goddess Roma and the deified Julius Caesar. At these shrines Roman citizens were encouraged and even exhorted to worship. Then another step was taken. To provincials who were not Roman citizens Augustus gave permission to erect temples in Pergamum in Asia and in Nicomedia in Bithynia, for the worship of Roma and himself. At first the worship of the reigning Emperor was considered to be something permissible for provincial non-citizens, but not for those who had the dignity of the citizenship.

There was an inevitable development. It is human to worship a god who can be seen rather than a spirit. Gradually men began more and more to worship the Emperor himself instead of the goddess Roma. It still required special permission from the senate to erect a temple to the living Emperor, but by the middle of the first century that permission was more and more freely given. Caesar worship was becoming the universal religion of the Roman Empire. A priesthood developed and the worship was organized into presbyteries, whose officials were held in the highest honour.

This worship was never intended to wipe out other religions. Rome was essentially tolerant. A man might worship Caesar and his own god. But more and more Caesar worship became a test of political loyalty; it became, as has been said, the recognition of the dominion of Caesar over a manlife and soul. Let us, then trace the development of this worship up to, and immediately beyond, the writing of the Revelation.

(i) Augustus, who died in A.D. 14, allowed the worship of Julius Caesar, his great predecessor. He allowed non-citizens in the provinces to worship himself but he did not permit citizens to do so; and he made no attempt to enforce this worship.

(ii) Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) could not halt Caesar worship. He forbade temples to be built and priests to be appointed for his own worship; and in a letter to Gython, a Laconian city, he definitely refused divine honours for himself. So far from enforcing Caesar worship, he actively discouraged it.

(iii) Caligula (A.D. 37-41), the next Emperor, was an epileptic, a madman and a megalomaniac. He insisted on divine honours. He attempted to enforce Caesar worship even on the Jews, who had always been and who always were to remain exempt from it. He planned to place his own image in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem, a step which would certainly have provoked unyielding rebellion. Mercifully he died before he could carry out his plans. But in his reign we have an episode when Caesar worship became an imperial demand.

(iv) Caligula was succeeded by Claudius (A.D. 41-54) who completely reversed his insane policy. He wrote to the governor of Egypt--there were a million Jews in Alexandria--fully approving the Jewish refusal to call the Emperor a god and granting them full liberty to enjoy their own worship. On his accession to the throne, he wrote to Alexandria saying: "I deprecate the appointment of a High Priest to me and the erection of temples, for I do not wish to be offensive to my contemporaries, and I hold that sacred fanes and the like have been by all ages attributed to the immortal gods as peculiar honours."

(v) Nero (A.D. 54-68) did not take his own divinity seriously and did nothing to insist on Caesar worship. It is true that he persecuted the Christians; but this was not because they would not worship him, but because he had to find scapegoats for the great fire of Rome.

(vi) On the death of Nero there were three Emperors in eighteen months--Galba, Otto and Vitellius, and in such a time of chaos the question of Caesar worship did not arise.

(vii) The next two Emperors, Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) and Titus (A.D. 79-81), were wise rulers, who made no insistence on Caesar worship.

(viii) The coming of Domitian (A.D. 81-96) brought a complete change. He was a devil. He was the worst of all things--a cold-blooded persecutor. With the exception of Caligula, he in as the first Emperor to take his divinity seriously and to demand Caesar worship. The difference was that Caligula was an insane devil; Domitian was a sane devil, which is much more terrifying. He erected a monument to "the deified Titus son of the deified Vespasian." He began a campaign of bitter persecution against all who would not worship the ancient gods--"the atheists" as he called them. In particular he launched his hatred against the Jews and the Christians. When he arrived in the theatre with his empress, the crowd were urged to rise and shout: "All hail to our Lord and his Lady!" He enacted that he himself was a god. He informed all provincial governors that government announcements and proclamations must begin: "Our Lord and God Domitian commands..." Everyone who addressed him in speech or in writing must begin: "Lord and God."

Here is the background of the Revelation. All over the Empire men and women must call Domitian god--or die. Caesar worship was the deliberate policy; all must say: "Caesar is Lord." There was no escape.

What were the Christians to do? What hope had they? They had not many wise and not many mighty. They had no influence or prestige. Against them had risen the might of Rome which no nation had ever resisted. They were confronted with the choice--Caesar or Christ. It was to encourage men in such times that the Revelation was written. John did not shut his eyes to the terrors; he saw dreadful things and he saw still more dreadful things on the way; but beyond them he saw glory for those who defied Caesar for the love of Christ. The Revelation comes from one of the most heroic ages in all the history of the Christian Church. It is true that Domitiansuccessor Nerva (A.D. 96-98) repealed the savage laws; but the damage was done, the Christians were outlaws, and the Revelation is a clarion call to be faithful unto death in order to win the crown of life.

b The Book Worth Studying

No one can shut his eyes to the difficulty of the Revelation. It is the most difficult book in the Bible; but it is infinitely worth studying, for it contains the blazing faith of the Christian Church in the days when life was an agony and men expected the end of the heavens and the earth as they knew them but still believed that beyond the terror was the glory and above the raging of men was the power of God.

FURTHER READING

Revelation

G. B. Caird, The Revelation of Saint John the Divine (ACB; E)

R. H. Charles, Revelation (ICC; G)

T. S. Kepler, The Book of Revelation

H. B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St John (MmC; G)

Abbreviations

ACB: A. and C. Black New Testament Commentary

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MmC: Macmillan Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: Revelation 6 (Chapter Introduction)

The Opening Of The Seals (Rev_6:1-8)

As one by one the seals of the roll are opened, history unfolds itself before John's eyes. As we study this section, we must remember one general fact which is basic to its understanding. In this series of visions John is seeing in advance the end of terror and judgment which could bring in the golden age of God. Before we study the section in detail, we note one general point. In the first section of the visions, Rev_6:1-8, the King James Version consistently follows a form of the Greek text which makes each of the four living creatures say: "Come and see!" (Rev_6:1; Rev_6:3; Rev_6:5; Rev_6:7). In all the best Greek manuscripts it is simply, "Come!" as translated in the Revised Standard Version. This is not an invitation to John to come and see; it is a summons to the four horses and their riders one by one to come forward on the stage of history.

The Four Horses And Their Riders (Rev_6:1-8 continued)

6:1-8 And I saw when the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a loud voice like the sound of thunder, "Come!" And I saw, and, behold, a white horse, and he who was seated on it had a bow, and a conqueror's crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. And, when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" And there came forth another horse blood-red in colour, and to him that sat upon it there was given to take peace from the earth, and to bring it about that men slay one another, and a great sword was given to him. And, when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And, behold, there came a black horse, and he who sat upon it had the beam of a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying: "A measure of wheat for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius. But you must not injure the oil and the wine." And, when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come!" And I saw, and, behold, there came a pale horse, and the name of him who sat upon it was Death, and Hades followed with him; and they were given power over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Before we embark on a detailed interpretation of this vision, we note two important points. (i) We note that the origin of this vision is in Zec_6:1-8 . Zechariah sees four horses which are let loose upon the earth to deal out vengeance on Babylon and Egypt and the nations which have oppressed God's people. "These are going forth to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth" (Zec_6:5). The horses stand for the four mighty winds which God is about to let loose on the earth with a blast of destruction. John does not keep the details the same; but for him, too, the horses and their riders are the instruments of the avenging judgment of God. (ii) We must explain the method of interpretation which we think must be used. The four horses and their riders stand for four great destructive forces which are in the times before the end to be despatched against the evil world by the holy wrath of God. But, John sees these forces in terms of actual events in the world which he knew where life seemed a chaos, the world seemed to be disintegrating, and the earth seemed to be full of terrors. The horses and their riders are forces of destruction and agents of wrath; they are not to be identified with any historical figures but in the events of his own time John saw symbols and types of the destruction to come Our method of interpretation will, therefore, be to define the destructive force for which each of the horses stands, and then, where possible, to find circumstances in the history of John's own time which illustrate the destruction to come. We will further see that in more than one case John is dealing in pictures and ideas which were part of the stock in trade of the writers of these visions of the days of the end.

The White Horse Of Conquest (Rev_6:1-2)

The Blood-Red Horse Of Strife (Rev_6:3-4)

The Black Horse Of Famine (Rev_6:5-6)

The Pale Horse Of Pestilence And Death (Rev_6:7-8)

The Souls Of The Martyrs (Rev_6:9-11)

The Cry Of The Martyrs (Rev_6:9-11 Continued)

The Shattered Universe (Rev_6:12-14)

The Time Of Terror (Rev_6:15-17)

Constable: Revelation (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

The opening verses of the book state that "John" wrote it (1:1, 4, 9; cf. 22:8). >From the first century to the present day almost all orthodox scholars have concluded that this means the Apostle John.¹ Two noteworthy exceptions were Luther and Zwingli.² Today many scholars who accept the divine inspiration of the book believe the Apostle John wrote it.

Some of the early church fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Irenaeus, and Victorinus) wrote that the Apostle John experienced exile on the island of Patmos during Domitian's reign.³ They wrote that the government allowed John to return to Ephesus after this emperor died. Domitian died in A.D. 96. Consequently many conservative interpreters date the writing of this book near A.D. 95 or 96.

"Perhaps more than any other book in the NT, the Apocalypse enjoyed wide distribution and early recognition."⁴

Where did John get the revelation that he wrote down in this book? He said that he received it from Jesus Christ through angelic mediation (1:1). Most of the details of this revelation were undoubtedly new to John. However there are remarkable parallels between this revelation and the Lord Jesus' teaching in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21). The Book of Revelation clearly builds on that foundation.⁵ The apocalyptic sections of certain books of the Old Testament--particularly Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Psalms--contain former revelation that God gave His prophets about the end times.⁶ The revelation that Jesus gave in the Olivet Discourse and later to John on Patmos supplements that earlier revelation.

"Jesus in His [Olivet] discourse was clearly anticipating what He was to show John in much greater detail more than six decades later here on the island of Patmos."⁷

Message⁸

The subject of the Book of Revelation is Jesus Christ (1:1). It is an unveiling ("revelation") of Him. What does this book reveal about Christ? The Book of Revelation is the unveiling of the person of Jesus Christ, the power of Jesus Christ, and the program of Jesus Christ.

First, it is a revelation of the person of Jesus Christ. It unveils who He is and what He is. This book is the climax of Scriptural Christology.

Notice first what the Book reveals about who Jesus Christ is. Three emphases in the book clarify His essential being.

1. He is the same human Jesus Christ who was born on earth at His first coming. He is the same Jesus on whose chest John reclined (1:1, 2, 5). He is a "son of man," possessing a full human nature (1:13). Moreover He will always be that (22:20).

2. He is also fully divine, one with the Father (1:12-18; 3:14). He reveals God fully (19:13). He will share the throne of the universe with the Father eventually (22:1, 3).

3. He is the eternal God (1:8; 21:6; 22:13).

Notice also what the book of Revelation reveals about what Jesus Christ is. Seven titles give us a fuller appreciation of His place in history.

1. In the past He proved to be the Root of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the promised Messiah (3:7; 5:5; 22:16). This became clear at His baptism (Matt. 3:17).

2. In the past, also at His first advent, He proved to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (5:6, 12-13; 6:1). This became clear at His death.

3. In the past He proved to be the First-born from the dead, the victor over death and Hades (1:5-6, 2:8). This became clear at His resurrection.

4. In the present He is the Lord of the churches (2:1; 3:1; cf. 22:20).

5. In the future He will prove to be the Judge of all mankind (2:12, 18; 3:14; 6:1; et al.). This is His primary role during the Great Tribulation.

6. In the future He will prove to be King of kings and Lord of lords (1:5; 17:14; 19:16). This is His primary role during the Millennium.

7. In the future He will prove to be the Morning Star (22:16; cf. 2:28). His second coming will signal the dawning of a new day in history. This will find its clearest revelation in the new heavens and earth. The Millennium will only be a foretaste of that day.

This book is also a revelation of the power of Jesus Christ. Individuals have various kinds of power. Jesus Christ has all kinds of power and all power of all kinds.

He has all personal power.

1. He has inherent power. We see this in His control of all other beings and forces (e.g., believers, unbelievers, Satan, the beasts, human armies, etc.). He wields the power Himself.

2. He also has acquired power. His Father has given Him this power (5:1, 6-7; cf. Matt. 28:18). He exercises all the power of the Godhead.

Second, He has all instrumental power. That is He has authority over all things as He executes His power. All things are His instruments or tools.

1. He has power over all material objects and forces. He controls the physical universe. We can see this in His using individuals, storms, earthquakes, and even the heavenly bodies to accomplish His will.

2. He also has power over all spiritual entities and authorities. He controls the angels, demons, and Satan. Every power in the universe is under His control (e.g., 13:15).

Third, He has all effectual power. That is He has power to accomplish anything. He can affect any changes He desires.

1. He has all destructive power. He can destroy anything that exists: individuals, systems (e.g., Babylonianism), objects, even the heavens and earth.

2. He also has all constructive power. He can create new human bodies (by resurrection), new systems (new religious and economic orders), and new cities (the new Jerusalem). He will even create new heavens and a new earth.

The Book of Revelation also reveals the program of Jesus Christ (1:19). It gives us much detail about God's program and how it will unfold in the future. However let me point out God's purposes that this program unveils.

Christ's immediate purpose is to defeat and destroy Satan and sin.

We see Him doing this in the church age in Revelation as He deals with believers in the seven churches (chs. 2-3). His purpose is to purify to Himself a people who will be a kingdom and priests to God (1:6).

We also see Him doing this in the Tribulation in Revelation. We see it in His judgment of those who have not believed on Him (chs. 4-18). His purpose is to pour out God's wrath on His enemies for their refusal to receive His grace (16:1).

Christ's ultimate purpose is to dwell among His people and experience intimate fellowship with them.

We see Him doing this in the Millennium to an extent never before attained in history (20:6).

We see Him doing this in the new earth perfectly and eternally (22:3-5). This has always been God's ultimate purpose (e.g., Adam, Noah, the patriarchs, Israel, the church, the Millennium). He will achieve it completely in the new earth.

The Book of Revelation then is an unveiling of Jesus Christ--His person, His power, and His program--for the rest of history. This is the message statement. We must never forget that He is the subject of this book as we seek to understand what He has revealed here.

Constable: Revelation (Outline)

Outline

I. The preparation of the prophet ch. 1

A. The prologue of the book 1:1-8

1. The preface 1:1-3

2. The address and doxology 1:4-6

3. The theme 1:7-8

B. The commission of the prophet 1:9-20

1. The first commission to write 1:9-11

2. The source of the commission 1:12-16

3. The amplification of the commission 1:17-20

II. The letters to the seven churches chs. 2-3

A. The letter to the church in Ephesus 2:1-7

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:1

2. Commendation 2:2-3

3. Rebuke 2:4

4. Exhortation 2:5-6

5. Promise 2:7

B. The letter to the church in Smyrna 2:8-11

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:8

2. Commendation 2:9

3. Exhortation 2:10a

4. Promise 2:10b-11

C. The letter to the church in Pergamum 2:12-17

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:12

2. Commendation 2:13

3. Rebuke 2:14-15

4. Exhortation 2:16

5. Promise 2:17

D. The letter to the church in Thyatira 2:18-29

1. Destination and description of Christ 2:18

2. Commendation 2:19

3. Rebuke 2:20-23

4. Exhortation 2:24-25

5. Promise 2:26-29

E. The letter to the church in Sardis 3:1-6

1. Destination and description of Christ 3:1a-b

2. Commendation and rebuke 3:1c, 2b

3. Exhortation 3:2a, 3

4. Promise 3:4-6

F. The letter to the church in Philadelphia 3:7-13

1. Destination and description of Christ 3:7

2. Commendation 3:8

3. Promise 3:9-11a, 12

4. Exhortation 3:11b, 13

G. The letter to the church in Laodicea 3:14-22

1. Destination and description of Christ 3:14

2. Rebuke 3:15-17

3. Exhortation 3:18-19

4. Promise 3:20-22

III. The revelation of the future 4:1-22:5

A. Introduction to the judgments of the Tribulation chs. 4-5

1. The throne in heaven ch. 4

2. The Lamb on the throne ch. 5

B. The first six seal judgments ch. 6

1. The first seal 6:1-2

2. The second seal 6:3-4

3. The third seal 6:5-6

4. The fourth seal 6:7-8

5. The fifth seal 6:9-11

6. The sixth seal 6:12-17

C. Supplementary revelation of salvation in the Great Tribulation ch. 7

1. The sealing of 144,000 Israelites 7:1-8

2. The salvation of the great multitude 7:9-17

D. The first six trumpet judgments chs. 8-9

1. The first four trumpet judgments ch. 8

2. The fifth and sixth trumpet judgments ch. 9

E. Supplementary revelation of John's preparation for recording the remaining judgments in the Great Tribulation ch. 10

1. The appearance of the mighty angel 10:1-4

2. The announcement of the mighty angel 10:5-7

3. The instruction of the mighty angel 10:8-11

F. Supplementary revelation of the two witnesses in the Great Tribulation 11:1-14

1. The temple in Jerusalem 11:1-2

2. The ministry of the two witnesses 11:3-6

3. The death of the two witnesses 11:7-10

4. The resurrection of the two witnesses 11:11-13

5. The end of the second woe 11:14

G. The seventh trumpet judgment 11:15-19

H. Supplementary revelation of Satan's activity in the Great Tribulation chs. 12-13

1. The activity of Satan himself ch. 12

2. The activity of Satan's agents ch. 13

I. Supplementary revelation of preparations for the final judgments in the Great Tribulation chs. 14-15

1. Judgment at the end of the Great Tribulation ch. 14

2. Preparation for the bowl judgments ch. 15

J. The seven bowl judgments ch. 16

1. The commencement of the bowl judgments 16:1

2. The first bowl 16:2

3. The second bowl 16:3

4. The third bowl 16:4

5. Ascriptions of angelic and martyr praise 16:5-7

6. The fourth bowl 16:8-9

7. The fifth bowl 16:10-11

8. The sixth bowl 16:12-16

9. The seventh bowl 16:17-21

K. Supplementary revelation of the judgment of ungodly systems in the Great Tribulation chs. 17-18

1. Religion in the Great Tribulation ch. 17

2. Commerce in the Great Tribulation ch. 18

L. The Second Coming of Christ ch. 19

1. The praise of God in heaven 19:1-10

2. The return of Christ to earth 19:11-16

3. The destruction of the wicked on earth 19:17-21

M. The millennial reign of Christ ch. 20

1. The binding of Satan 20:1-3

2. The resurrection of tribulation martyrs 20:4-6

3. The final judgment of Satan 20:7-10

4. The judgment of the wicked 20:11-15

N. The eternal state 21:1-22:5

1. The vision of the new heaven and earth 21:1

2. John's first vision of the New Jerusalem 21:2-8

3. John's second vision of the New Jerusalem 21:9-22:5

IV. The epilogue to the book 22:6-21

A. The testimony of the angel 22:6-7

B. The testimony of John 22:8-11

C. The testimony of Jesus and John's response 22:12-20

D. The final benediction 22:21

Constable: Revelation

Revelation

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Saucy, Robert L. The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993.

Scofield, C. I., ed. The Scofield Reference Bible. Revised ed.; New York: Oxford University Press, 1917.

Scott, Walter. Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. London: Pickering and Inglis, Ltd., n.d.

Seiss, Joseph A. The Apocalypse. Charles C. Cook, 1900; reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973.

Shea, William H. "Literary and Theological Parallels Between Revelation 14-15 and Exodus 19-24." Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 12:2 (Autumn 2001):164-79.

Showers, Renald E. Maranatha Our Lord, Come: A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church. Bellmawr, Pa.: Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, 1995.

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Smith, Charles R. "The Book of Life." Grace Theological Journal 6:2 (Fall 1985):219-30.

Smith, Christopher R. "The Tribes of Revelation 7 and the Literary Competence of John the Seer." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 38:2 (June 1995):213-18.

Smith, J. B. A Revelation of Jesus Christ. Edited by J. Otis Yoder. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1971.

Smith, Wilbur M. "Revelation." In The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, pp. 1491-1525. Edited by Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison. Chicago: Moody Press, 1962.

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Spurgeon, W. A. The Conquering Christ. Muncie, Ind.: By the Author, 1936.

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Stauffer, Ethelbert. Christ and the Caesars. London: SCM, 1965.

Stott, John R. W. What Christ Thinks of the Church. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,1959.

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_____. Life After Death. Condensed Books series. Condensation of We Live Forever. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1947; condensed ed., Westchester, Ill.: Good News Publishers, 1961.

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_____. "The Glorified Christ on Patmos." Bibliotheca Sacra 122:487 (July-September 1965):241-47.

_____. "The Imprecatory Prayers of the Apocalypse." Bibliotheca Sacra 125:502 (April-June 1969):123-31.

_____. "John's Apocalyptic Outline." Bibliotheca Sacra 123:492 (October- December 1966):334-41.

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_____. "The Spiritual Gift of Prophecy in Rev 22:18." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32:2 (June 1989):201-16.

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_____. "Making Sense of Rev 20:1-10? Harold Hoehner Versus Recapitulation." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:4 (December 1994):539-51.

_____. "Reexamining the Evidence for Recapitulation in Rev 20:1-10." Westminster Theological Journal 51 (1989):319-44.

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_____. "The Mark of the Beast and Perseverance; Revelation 14:9-12." Grace Evangelical Society News 6:6 (June 1991):2-3.

_____. "Who Are The Outsiders? Revelation 22:14-17." Grace Evangelical Society News 8:6 (November-December 1993):2-3.

Woods, Andy M. "The First Beast of Revelation 13 Has Not Yet Appeared in World History: A Comparison of the Preterist and Futurist Views." Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002.

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_____. "The Hidden Manna and the White Stone in Revelation 2:17." Bibliotheca Sacra 155:619 (July-September 1998):346-54.

_____. "The Pillar and the Throne in Revelation 3:12, 21." Bibliotheca Sacra 156:623 (July-September 1999):297-307.

_____. "The Tree of Life in Revelation 2:7." Bibliotheca Sacra 155:618 (April-June 1998):211-26.

_____. "The Two Witnesses in Revelation 11." Bibliotheca Sacra 154:615 (July-September 1997):344-54.

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Yamauchi, Edwin M. The Archaeology of the New Testament Cities in Western Asia Minor. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980.

_____. "Cultural Aspects of Marriage in the Ancient World." Bibliotheca Sacra 135:539 (July-September 1978):241-52.

Young, Edward J. The Book of Isaiah. 3 vols. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965, 1969, 1972.

Young, Richard, and Stewart Custer. "Annotated Bibliography on Revelation." Biblical Viewpoint 16:1 (April 1982):81-106.

Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Revelation (Book Introduction)

THE

APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN,

THE APOSTLE.

INTRODUCTION.

Though some in the first ages [centuries] doubted whether this book was canonical, and who was the author of it, (see Eusebius, lib. 7, History of the Church, chap. xxv.) yet it is certain much the part of the ancient fathers acknowledged both that it was a part of the canon, and that it was written by St. John, the apostle and evangelist. See Tillemont, in his ninth note upon St. John, where he cites St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenæus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. Athanasius., Eusebius, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, &c. It was written in Greek to the churches in Asia [Asia Minor], under Domitian, about the year 96 or 97, long after the destruction of Jerusalem, when St. John was banished to the island of Patmos, in the Ægean Sea. It is by some called the prophecy of the New Testament, and the accomplishment of the predictions of all other prophets, by the first coming of Christ at his incarnation, and by his second coming at the end of the world. As to the time when the chief predictions should come to pass, we have no certainty, as appears by the different opinions, both of the ancient fathers, and late interpreters. Many think that most things set down from the fourth chapter to the end, will not be fulfilled till a little time before the end of the world. Others are of an opinion, that a great part of them, and particularly the fall of the wicked Babylon, happened at the destruction of paganism, by the destruction of heathen Rome, and its persecuting heathen emperors. Of these interpretations, see Alcazar in his long commentary, the learned Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, in his treatise on this book, and P. Alleman, in his notes on the same Apocalypse, tom. xii, who, in his preface, says, that this is in a great measure may be now looked upon as the opinion followed by the learned men. In fine, others think St. John's design was in a mystical way, by metaphors and allegories, to represent the attempts and persecutions of the wicked against the servants of God, the punishments that should in a short time fall upon Babylon, that is, upon all the wicked in general; the eternal happiness and reward which God had reserved for the pious inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, for his faithful servants, after their short trials and tribulations of this mortal life. In the mean time we meet with many profitable instructions and admonitions, which we may easily enough understand; but we have no certainty, when we apply these predictions to particular events; for as St. Jerome takes notice, the Apocalypse has as many mysteries as words, or rather mysteries in every word. Apocalypsis Joannis tot habet sacramenta quot verba....parum dixi, in verbis singulus multiplices latent intelligentiæ . (Ep. ad Paulin. t. iv., p. 574. Edit. Benedict.) (Witham) --- In the first, second, and third chapters of this book are contained instructions and admonitions which St. John was commanded to write to the seven bishops of the churches in Asia. And in the following chapters, to the end, are contained prophecies of things that are to come to pass in the Church of Christ, particularly towards the end of the world, in the time of antichrist. It was written in Greek, in the island of Patmos, where St. John was in banishment by order of the cruel emperor Domitian, about sixty-four years after our Lord's ascension. (Challoner) --- This is the last in order of the sacred writings, and contains, in twenty-two chapters, revelations, as the name imports, extremely obscure, it must be acknowledged, yet undoubtedly of utmost importance to the Christian Church, if we may judge from the dignity of the author, who is the beloved disciple, or the grandeur and majesty of the ideas, which pervade every chapter of the work. Being a sealed book, or a hidden mystery, in the beginning of the Church, when nothing of this important prophecy had yet been fulfilled, it is no wonder we are deprived of the usual lights which we have hitherto followed in expounding the Scripture, viz. the works of the fathers. So little was it indeed understood at that time, that by many it was long considered as a reverie, and an extravagant composition, though the most learned always looked upon it as an inspired work. One reason, which may have led the faithful to class this among the apocryphal works, was the number of fables and illusions published by the misguided piety of the ignorant. We know at least, that on account of the heresy of Cerinthus, which was filled up with illusion and fanaticism, this book was not circulated among the faithful: a few copies were kept with care in the archives of the Churches, to be perused only by the bishop, or such as he thought not likely to abuse it. With regard to the interpretation of it, it will not be expected that it should be attempted in a work of this kind. We shall therefore only give a short account of the principal commentators, and their plans, that the enlightened reader may consult their works, if he wish to enter deeper into the subject. But it should never be forgotten, that the connection of sublime and prophetical ideas which compose this work, has at all times been a labyrinth, in which the greatest geniuses have lost themselves, and a rock on which most commentators have split, the great Sir Isaac Newton not excepted. Hence Scaliger's praise of Calvin; Calvinus sapuit, quia non scripsit in Apocalypsim. 1. The fathers living before the accomplishment of the events, have of course given us no interpretation. Those, therefore, who have written on it at all, have explained it in a mere moral sense, and drawn from it useful parables and instructions. None of them have given a regular systematic explanation. It must, however, be observed, as a circumstance of some moment, that many of them, particularly Sts. Augustine and Jerome, thought the Apocalypse contained prophecies regarding the whole time of the existence of the Church of Christ, till its triumphant state in the new Jerusalem. 2. Among the moderns we have abundant interpreters of the Apocalypse in all the reformed Churches. It has indeed grown into a mania among them, the only difference being their respective degrees of absurdity. This has been to all of them the common quarry, whence they have hewn the stones to cast at their mother Church. For to this day they have continued to disgrace themselves and Christianity, by depicting the Church of Rome as the scarlet whore of Babylon, popery the beast, and the pope antichrist. We must, however, except Grotius and Hammond, who have given historical interpretations, and some few others. 3. Among Catholic expositors stands eminently conspicuous the learned bishop of Meaux, Bosseut. This light of the Galican Church has improved upon and filled up the outlines which Grotius had only sketched. The first three chapters, according to him, regard only the Churches of Asia, to which they are addressed; the other chapters, to nineteen, have been fulfilled in the persecutions which the Church endured under the pagan emperors. The last three are merely allegorical of the triumphs which the Church finally gained over her persecutors. 4. Du Pin has taken a wider range. The last three chapters regard the final judgment, and the establishment of the Church in heaven. And all the chapters between the first three and last three, are mere general descriptions of persecutions, fall of tyrants, heresies, &c. which shall happen in the Church; represented under the various figures which the rich imagination of St. John supplied. This system certainly removes all difficulties at once, by saving the trouble of comparing each figure with corresponding historical facts; but substitutes a vague and indeterminate sense, which we do not expect in prophecy. 5. Calmet does not vary a great deal in the outlines with Bossuet; but their applications of the text to the history are in many points widely different. He conceives the intermediate chapters between the first three and last three to have been fulfilled in the general persecution begun by Diocletian, in 303, and the destruction of Rome, in 410, by Alaric. The last three chapters give the triumph of the martyrs at that period, as well as many things, which are to take place at the coming of antichrist, and the dissolution of the world. 6. Conceiving that all the above commentators had too much contracted the time for the accomplishment of the prophecy, by limiting it to the establishment of Christianity, Monsieur de la Chetardie established a new system upon the supposition that the Apocalypse includes the whole history of Christ's Church upon earth. In doing this, he had the authority of St. Augustine, and other fathers. Observing, therefore, upon an attentive perusal of this work, that there were seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, and that at the opening of such seals a new revelation was made, he ingeniously concluded, that the history of the whole Church was divided into seven periods or ages, and that to each period belonged one seal, one trumpet, and one vial. Six of these periods he conceives to be already accomplished, the seventh yet remains concealed in the womb of futurity. 7. Ingenious as is this system of Chetardie, it was not adopted, since Calmet, who wrote after him, preferred his own, which resembled that of Bossuet. It has, however, been renewed by this late bishop Walmsley, under the name of Signor Pastorini, who has taken up the idea and general outline from Chetardie, but illustrated the same with his own interpretation and application to historical facts. The erudition with which the latter author has clothed this system, and the striking aptness of his comparisons of the words of the prophecy to the events which have passed, have gained a very general approbation, and he is almost exclusively followed in the interpretation of this sealed book. How far he has succeeded in his explanation of the seventh age of the Church, cannot be determined by us, since it is shut up in the dark recess of futurity. Posterity will decide. To him we refer the English reader for any further information on the subject, convinced that his researches will be amply gratified, his education wonderfully improved. For, says the illustrious prelate Bossuet, "notwithstanding the obscurities of this book, we experience in its perusal an impression so sweet, and at the same time so magnificent, of the majesty of God; such sublime ideas present themselves of the mystery of Jesus Christ, such noble images of his victories and his reign, and such terrible effects of his judgment, that the soul is quite moved and penetrated. All the beauties of the Scriptures are collected in this book. Whatever there is melting, lively, and majestic in either the law or the prophets, acquires in this book an additional lustre." O truly adorable truths contained herein! of which God is the plentitude and eternal source; of which Jesus Christ is the prophet, the teacher and master; truths which have the angels for servants and ministers; the apostles and bishops for witnesses and depositaries; and all faithful souls, ver. 3. for children and disciples. Let us prepare our hearts to hear Jesus Christ arisen from the dead, discovering to us the mysteries of his kingdom, and the truths of the gospel of his glory. Let us hear his warning voice, and prepare for his speedy coming by a strict observance of every duty. Happy, thrice happy that Christian whom the death of sin, and the sleep of tepidity shall not render deaf to this voice!

====================

Gill: Revelation (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION

That this book was written by the Apostle and Evangelist John, is clear not only from the express mention of his name, and from his office, a servant of Jesus Christ, Rev 1:1; but also from the character this writer gives of himself, Rev 1:2; as being an eyewitness of the essential Logos, or Word of God, and who bore a faithful record of him as such, as John did in his Gospel, in a very peculiar and remarkable manner, and from this writer's being in the isle of Patmos when he wrote, Rev 1:9; for of what other John can this be said? to which may be added the testimonies of the ancient writers, as Justin Martyr ^a, who lived within fifty years of the apostle, and Irenaeus ^b, who was the disciple of Polycarp, an hearer of this apostle, and Clemens Alexandrinus ^c, Tertullian ^d, Origen ^e, and others, who ascribe it to him. It was a most monstrously stupid notion of Caius, Dionysius of Alexandria mentions ^f, that it was written by Cerinthus the heretic, when his heresies concerning the divinity and humanity of Christ are most strongly refuted in it. What seems to have led to such a thought is, that the account of the thousand years' reign, and the descent of the new Jerusalem from heaven, seemed to favour the judaism of this man, and his carnal notions of an earthly paradise, whereas they have no such tendency. And as for its being written by another John, who is said to be presbyter at Ephesus, after the apostle, it is not certain there ever was such a man; and if there was, he must be too late to be the writer of this book; nor to him can the above characters agree. What is observed in favour of him, that the penman of this book is called, in the title, John the divine, and not the evangelist, or apostle, will do him no service; for to whom does this character so well agree, as to the Evangelist John, who wrote of divine things in so divine a manner, and particularly concerning the divinity of Christ? hence this book was sometimes called yeologia, "Divinity" ^g: besides, the title of the book is not original, but is what has been affixed to it by others, and varies; for in the Complutensian edition it runs thus,

"the Revelation of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Divine.''

In the Vulgate Latin version it is called the Apocalypse of the blessed John the Apostle; and in the Syriac version, the Revelation which was made to John the Evangelist; and in the Arabic version, the Vision of John, the Apostle and Evangelist, to wit, the Apocalypse. All which acknowledge the Apostle John to be the writer of it, and show the sense of the ancients concerning it. Nor is it of any moment what is alleged, that this writer makes mention of his name several times, whereas it was usual with John, both in his Gospel and epistles, to conceal his name; since there is a wide difference between writing an history and epistles to friends, and prophecy which requires the author's name, on whom the authority and truth of the prophecy greatly depend: and so likewise the disagreement of style observed in this book, with the other writings of John, has no force in it; since the prophetic style is always different from an historical and epistolary one; and yet, after all, in many things, there is an agreement; John in this, as in his other writings, speaks of Christ as the Word and Son of God and under the character of the Lamb; and likewise the following: passages may be compared together, as Rev 1:2 with Joh 19:35 and 1Jo 1:1, Rev 1:5 with 1Jo 1:7. All which being observed there no room to doubt, neither of the writer nor of the authority of this book; especially when the agreement of the doctrine contained in it with other parts of the Scripture, the majesty of its style, and above all the many prophecies of things to come to pass in it, several of which have been already fulfilled, are considered; and though it was called in question and rejected by some heretical men, because some things in it did not suit with their tenets, yet we have not the least reason to doubt of its being authentic who have lived to see so much of it already accomplished and which could come from no other but God. As for the time of its writing this is not agreed upon on all hands; the place where, seems to be the isle of Patmos, which yet some question. Some think it was written in the times of Claudius Caesar ^h, before the destruction of Jerusalem. In the title of the Syriac version, this revelation is said to be made to John in the isle of Patmos, into which he was cast by Nero Caesar. But the more commonly received opinion is, that he had this vision there, at the latter end of Domitian's reign ⁱ by whom he was there banished, about the year 95, or 96. But be this as it will, the book is certainly of divine authority, and exceeding useful and instructive; and contains in it the most momentous and important doctrines of the Gospel, concerning a trinity of persons in the Godhead, the deity and sonship of Christ, the divinity and personality of the Spirit, the offices of Christ, the state and condition of man by nature, justification, pardon, and reconciliation by the blood of Christ; and it recommends the several duties of religion, and encourages to the exercise of every grace and gives a very particular account of the rise, power, and fall of antichrist, and of the state of the church of Christ in all the periods of time to the end of the world. And though it is written in an uncommon style, yet may be understood, by the use of proper means, as by prayer and meditation, by comparing it with other prophetic writings, and the history of past times, by which many things in it will appear to have had their accomplishment; and it ought to be observed, that it is a revelation, and not a hidden thing; that it is now not a sealed book, but an open one; and that such are pronounced blessed that read and hear it, and observe the things in it, Rev 1:3; and which is no small encouragement to attempt an explanation of it.

Gill: Revelation 6 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 6

This chapter contains the vision of the opening six of the seals of the sealed book, by the Lamb, and of the events following thereupon. The preparation to the vision of the first seal is in Rev 6:1; the Lamb opens it, John hears a noise like thunder, and one of the living creatures bids him come and see; upon which he saw a horse, of a white colour, and a rider on it, who is described by a bow and crown given him, and by the victory he obtained, Rev 6:2; at the opening of the second seal, the second living creature invites him as before; and he sees a horse, of a red colour, with a rider on it, described by his power, to take peace from the earth, and suffer men to kill one another, and by a great sword given him, Rev 6:3; at the opening of the third seal, the third living creature addresses him in like manner as the other; and he sees a horse, of a black colour, and a rider on it, with a pair of balances in his hands; and hears a voice from among the four living creatures, expressing dearness of provisions, and a charge not to hurt the oil and wine, Rev 6:5; at the opening of the fourth seal, the fourth living creature speaks to John, as the rest; and he sees a horse, of a pale colour, and a rider on it, described by his name, Death, by his follower, hell, or the grave, and by his power to destroy a fourth part of the earth with the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, Rev 6:7; at the opening of the fifth seal, John saw the souls of the martyrs, under the altar; hears their cry for vengeance; observes that white robes were given them, and that they were bid to be quiet until the slaying and suffering time of their brethren was over, Rev 6:9; at the opening of the sixth seal follow an earthquake, strange changes in the heavens, the sun becomes black as sackcloth, the moon becomes as blood, the stars fall, and the heaven itself departs, and every island and mountain are moved out of their places, Rev 6:12, the kings and great men of the earth, and even all sorts, of men, upon this, fly to the rocks and mountains to hide them from the face of God the Father, that sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, the opener of the sealed book; giving this as a reason for it, that the time of his great wrath was come, and none could stand before him, Rev 6:15.

College: Revelation (Book Introduction)

PREFACE

This commentary on the Revelation of John has been prepared for general readers of the Bible who desire to deepen their understanding of God's inspired word. It is not a technical commentary, although it draws on the best in current biblical scholarship. It is not a devotional commentary, although the reader will find that Revelation certainly speaks to our day. My primary aim has been to provide a clear, concise explanation of what the biblical text means, showing the evidence on which my conclusions are based.

Extensive cross-referencing makes this volume a convenient reference tool for those seeking insight into a particular passage. However, I strongly recommend that users read through the entire commentary from beginning to end, considering each text in its broader context. It is particularly important to read the Introduction. There I define key terms ("kingdom of God," "labor pains," "apocalypse," etc.) and explain the historical, literary, and theological setting for John's work. Readers who truly desire to understand Revelation will find this approach most productive.

For many years I have taught Revelation at Minnesota Bible College and in other settings. Therefore most of the research for writing this commentary was already done. Nevertheless, completing this project on a tight deadline has been a major undertaking. Many people have provided assistance and support to make this book possible. MBC's President, Mr. Robert Cash, relieved me from certain duties as Vice President of Academics and Professor of New Testament so that I could make a research trip to Virginia. Dr. Mark Mangano, MBC's Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, took over one of my classes to reduce my teaching load. The elders of the Meadow Park Church of Christ in Rochester, Minnesota, granted me a leave of absence from elders' duties so I could devote more time to writing. Dr. Harold Mahan, Director of the G.H. Cachiaras Memorial Library at MBC, provided research assistance. Dr. John Trotti and Mr. Roger Pittard, of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, also provided library support. My dear wife Cathy read the entire manuscript and provided secretarial assistance. The series editors, Dr. Jack Cottrell and Dr. Tony Ash, also read the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions. Mr. John Hunter of College Press guided me through the publication process. My students and colleagues at MBC, my family members, and so many others offered help and encouragement along the way. The women of the Disciple's Prayer Life Sunday School class have bathed this entire project in prayer. To all these brothers and sisters in Christ, I offer my sincere thanks.

Christopher A. Davis

Rochester, Minnesota

July 2, 2000

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

INTRODUCTION

I. INTENDED TO REVEAL NOT TO CONCEAL

The Revelation of John is one of the most often read, but least understood books of the Bible. The first three words of the Greek text of Revelation are ajpokavluyi" =Ihsou' Cristou' (apokalypsis Içsou Christou), or "apocalypse from Jesus Christ." Apokalypsis is a combination of two Greek terms: The noun kaluvptra ( kalyptra ) refers to some sort of "covering," particularly a woman's "veil." The preposition ajpov ( apo ) communicates the idea of "movement away from" or "removing" something from one location to another. The term apokalypsis literally means, then, "the removal of that which conceals" or "the removal of the veil" (so that one may see what is under it). In English, the term is usually translated "revelation" - something that does not "conceal" or "cover," but which "unveils" or "reveals." So John's own title for his book is "Apocalypse from Jesus Christ" or "Revelation from Jesus Christ."

Beginning with the very first word of the book, the author claims to be revealing something. John expects that his Christian readers will not be puzzled, but able to comprehend his meaning. He does not intend the Revelation to be an enigma, but to be understood . For centuries, however, the book's mysterious symbolism has served to hide more than it reveals. Anyone who reads interpretations of Revelation - from Irenaeus in the second century, to Joachim of Fiore in the twelfth century, to Hal Lindsey in the twentieth century - finds very little agreement regarding what the book means. The reason is that Revelation is so unusual, so unique in the New Testament, that many Bible students simply do not know how to approach it. They lack the "key" for unlocking the secrets John intends to share.

II. APPROACH TO REVELATION

A. AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL APPROACH

A breakthrough has come in our own time. Before the mid-1800s, the Bible was viewed as little more than a vast collection of proof texts that could be taken apart and used to support the doctrinal systems of the various churches. No serious effort was made to understand each book as a whole or to seek insight into the meaning of the biblical books by examining the historical circumstances in which they were written. Beginning with Ferdinand Christian Baur in the mid-nineteenth century, a new group of scholars has urged a different approach to Scripture - an historical and critical approach. This is the kind of approach to Revelation adopted in this commentary.

By "critical" we do not mean mere "faultfinding." Instead, being "critical" involves asking questions, weighing evidence, and forming judgments. If we ask no questions of Revelation, then we get no answers. Since we wish to understand this word from God, we ask the same kinds of penetrating questions of it that we ask of any other piece of literature, whether it be the orations of Cicero, the plays of Shakespeare, or the novels of Mark Twain. We ask questions such as: Who wrote this book? When? Where? How? For what purpose? To what audience? In what circumstances? Using what sources? Why is the book structured in the way it is? What did the terminology used by the author mean to the readers of his time? What literary techniques does he employ?

We take an "historical" approach to Revelation because we believe that the Bible should not be studied in a vacuum as if it had no relationship to the events surrounding its writing. One of the primary convictions of the Christian faith is that God does not reveal himself in a vacuum, but in history. He is not just "God." He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Moses and the Exodus; the God who made an eternal covenant with King David; the God who came among us in the person of Jesus Christ in history. For this reason, one of the best ways to gain an understanding of the Bible is to learn something about the historical settings in which it was produced.

In this commentary, we uncover the meaning of Revelation by asking an historical question: What did this book communicate to its first readers? What did Revelation reveal to the Christians for whom John wrote? How would they have understood its message? In order to answer this question, we must learn all we can about who the first readers were. We must acquaint ourselves with their time, their location, their circumstances, their language, their literature, and their culture. Only then will we be able to discern what Revelation meant to the believers for whom it was intended. Only then will we begin to work out an accurate interpretation of Revelation in its historical context. We will find that most of the truths Christ revealed to the first readers are applicable to his modern-day disciples as well.

B. RESOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF REVELATION

What resources from the ancient world assist us in our efforts to correctly understand and interpret Revelation? Primary texts include:

1. The Hebrew Old Testament

The Old Testament contains history and theological reflection regarding God's covenant relationship with the people of Israel. Christians consider the Old Testament and New Testament (see below) to be the inspired, authoritative word of God.

2. The Septuagint

The Septuagint is a Greek version of the Old Testament. This translation was begun in the third century B.C. after Alexander the Great made Greek the common language uniting his empire. According to legend, seventy Jewish scholars independently produced identical translations of the Hebrew Scriptures, thus attesting to divine inspiration of the Greek text. For this reason, "LXX" (the Roman numeral for "70") serves as the common abbreviation designating the Septuagint translation. The Septuagint was the "Bible" of most of the first Christians, who lived in the Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. Nearly every line of Revelation contains allusions to either the Septuagint or the Hebrew Old Testament. The Septuagint also includes the Apocrypha.

3. The Old Testament Apocrypha

The Apocrypha is a collection of Jewish writings, most of which date from the second century B.C. through the first century A.D. Christians from the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox traditions consider them part of the authoritative Christian canon. Most Protestants view the Apocrypha as useful, edifying works, but do not give them a status equal to that of the Old and New Testaments.

4. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha

The Pseudepigrapha is a collection of Jewish and Christian documents, with the majority dating from the third century B.C. through the second century A.D. About one-third are called "apocalypses" because they resemble the Revelation of John in their language, style, use of symbolism, and/or shared concepts. Since they represent the same literary type, or "genre," they prove an invaluable aid to the study of John's vision (as discussed below in Part III). James H. Charlesworth has edited a two-volume collection of these writings in English.

5. Ancient Near Eastern Texts

Texts surviving from the Ancient Near East shed light on the cultural roots of ideas found in Revelation. To illustrate, the Babylonian Creation Myth offers insights into the symbolic meaning of the "sea" and the "sea monster" in John's vision. J.B. Pritchard has edited a useful collection of such texts in English translation.

6. The Dead Sea Scrolls

Called "the greatest manuscript discovery in modern times" by W.F. Albright, the Scrolls were produced by a Jewish community at Qumran on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Some of the texts are biblical manuscripts, while others describe the beliefs and rules of the Qumran sect. Dating from the end of third century B.C. to A.D. 70, the Dead Sea Scrolls shed light on Palestinian Judaism in the years prior to the writing of Revelation.

7. The New Testament

Written in the first century A.D., the New Testament draws together writings of the very first Christian communities. As such, it represents our earliest and most precious witness to Jesus and the church he founded.

8. Josephus

A contemporary of John, Flavius Josephus composed valuable histories of the Jewish people. He provides us, for example, with a vivid, first-hand description of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 - an event alluded to in Revelation.

9. The New Testament Apocrypha

The New Testament Apocrypha is a collection of extracanonical Christian writings (some from Gnostic or other heretical groups) from the second century A.D. and beyond. It provides us with additional samples of early Christian apocalypses.

10. Early Christian Fathers

Writings of Christian leaders from the post-New Testament period cast light on the circumstances surrounding Revelation's composition. To illustrate, Eusebius's History of the Church (ca. A.D. 325) identifies the author and date of Revelation. Eusebius also describes two great persecutions suffered by first-century believers - events that play a role in John's vision.

11. Rabbinical Writings

Although most date to the post-New Testament period, teachings of ancient Jewish rabbis (Mishnah, Talmud, Midrashim, etc.) sometimes illuminate the biblical text. We turn to them, for example, when interpreting the symbolism of the four living creatures in Revelation 4.

12. Classical Greek and Latin Literature

Ancient Greek and Latin writers open a door to the world of the first readers of Revelation. To illustrate, Suetonius has left us biographies of the first twelve Roman emperors, some of whom play a role in Revelation. The correspondence of Governor Pliny and the Emperor Trajan explains Roman policy toward Christians in the early second century. The nearly five hundred volumes of the Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press) make this wealth of knowledge available to English readers.

We will utilize all these resources and more as we interpret the Revelation of John. We study other ancient writings not because we consider them to be inspired or authoritative - not because we place them on an equal level with the Bible. Rather, we study them because they help us to enter the thought world of John's first readers, so that we may understand Revelation as they understood it.

C. STRENGTHS OF THE HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL

APPROACH TO REVELATION

The weakness of alternative approaches to Revelation is seen in their failure to create a consensus regarding the meaning of the book. There have been nearly as many interpretations of Revelation as there have been interpreters. The weakness of alternative approaches is further highlighted by the erroneous predictions made on the basis of those approaches. To illustrate, when the former Soviet Union disintegrated, many scholars' interpretations of Revelation perished with it.

The strength of an historical and critical approach to Revelation is demonstrated by several facts: First, there is a great deal of agreement among historical and critical scholars regarding the meaning of John's vision. They have found the key to interpreting Revelation, while others must rely heavily on guesswork. Second, an historical and critical interpretation of Revelation makes sense today, and it would have made sense to the first-century Christians for whom the book was written. Third, an historical and critical interpretation reveals that the message of Revelation is wholly compatible and consistent with the message of the rest of the New Testament. Finally, the accuracy of an historical and critical interpretation of Revelation can be demonstrated with objective evidence drawn from other ancient writings. It does not rest on subjective speculation.

III. APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

Other New Testament writers communicate through narrative or epistle, but in Revelation John employs striking imagery and vivid symbolism. Although Revelation is unique in the New Testament, it was not at all unique in John's time. Revelation belongs to a genre, or type of literature, that was most popular in Palestine from the second century B.C. through the second century A.D. Such writings are called "apocalypses," or "apocalyptic literature," partly because they are revelatory in nature and partly because they resemble the Apocalypse of John (see Part I above).

A. JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN APOCALYPSES

The only apocalyptic writing in the Old Testament is the Book of Daniel. Some believe that Daniel is the oldest apocalypse and that later writers imitate its style. Others argue that the Book of the Watchers ( = 1 Enoch 1-36) is older. Whatever the case, Jewish theologians found apocalyptic to be a powerful tool for expressing their convictions concerning God and his dealings with the world. The most important Jewish apocalypses for our purposes are 1 Enoch (a compilation of five originally independent works dating from the second or third century B.C. to the first century A.D.), 2 Enoch (late first century A.D.), 2 Baruch (ca. A.D. 100), 3 Baruch (first to third century A.D.), 4 Ezra (ca. A.D. 100), the Apocalypse of Abraham (ca. A.D. 100), and the Apocalypse of Zephaniah (first century B.C. to first century A.D.). Beyond the apocalypses themselves, other writings from the period contain apocalyptic sections or features. Two examples are the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (second century B.C.) and the Sibylline Oracles (second century B.C. through seventh century A.D.). All of these writings are preserved in the Pseudepigrapha (described above in Part II.B.4).

Early Christian apocalypses include, for example, the Shepherd of Hermas, 5 Ezra, and the Apocalypse of Peter (all dating to the second century A.D.). The Revelation of John appears to be the first Christian apocalypse - the first Christian adaptation of the apocalyptic form. Other New Testament writings certainly contain apocalyptic ideas, but in Revelation alone do we find a fully developed apocalyptic vision. Since John's Christian apocalypse builds on the earlier Jewish apocalyptic tradition, those Jewish documents serve as one of the most valuable resources for understanding the nature and meaning of Revelation.

B. CHARACTERISTICS OF APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

But what exactly is an "apocalypse"? What sets these books apart and leads us to place them in a special class? First, Jewish apocalyptic literature is characterized by a particular kind of theology - a particular understanding of who God is and how he deals with his creation. Apocalyptic theology is rooted in the Jewish Scriptures since apocalyptic was initially a Jewish phenomenon. Christian apocalyptic writers later modified this theology in significant ways due to their encounter with Jesus Christ (see below).

Second, apocalyptic writers utilize a particular manner of communicating that theology - a distinctive form or style of writing . For example, they tend to make heavy use of symbolism.

So apocalyptic theology is a certain network of beliefs about God and the apocalyptic form is a certain means of expressing those beliefs. It is possible to have a message containing apocalyptic theology that is not communicated in the apocalyptic style. (An example would be the gospel preached by the Apostle Paul, which J. Christiaan Beker rightly describes as an "apocalyptic interpretation of the Christ-event.) However, true apocalypses - like the Revelation of John - display both apocalyptic form and apocalyptic theology.

1. Common Characteristics of the Apocalyptic Form

Some of the most common characteristics of the apocalyptic form are described below. Not every apocalypse includes every feature.

a. Visions or Revelations

Apocalypses take the form of visions or revelations from God. Whereas Old Testament prophets experience God directly ("The word of the Lord came to me" or "In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord"), the apocalyptic seers receive their revelations through an intermediary - often an angel. Their visions usually concern the future, giving apocalyptic a strong "eschatological" element.

b. Symbolism

Apocalyptic visions are filled with vivid symbolism. Over time, as various apocalyptists adopted and adapted the images used by others, a set of common symbols was developed. For example, the sea typically represents the forces of evil and chaos. Stars often represent angels. Beasts symbolize political powers opposed to God and his people. If we read Revelation alone (as so many do), then we may find John's symbolism puzzling and impenetrable. However, if we study other apocalypses as well, then we begin to see the patterns and Revelation becomes less intimidating.

c. Esoteric Elements

Apocalyptic writings are esoteric; they contain an element of mystery or secrecy. They are not meant for the general public, but for "insiders" who are acquainted, for example, with the meaning of the conventional apocalyptic symbols. John apparently considers his readers to be insiders able to grasp his meaning. By acquainting ourselves with their literature and culture, we can become insiders too.

d. Symbolic Numbers

Apocalyptic writers place symbolic meaning in numbers. Here, too, a set of conventional symbols emerge:

Two is the number of valid witness. Its Jewish roots are found in Deuteronomy 19:15 where the Lord requires at least two witnesses for a matter to be established in a court of law.

Three often relates to God. This symbol also has Old Testament roots in passages such as Isaiah 6:3 where the Lord receives the threefold worship of the seraphim: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty." Christian writers tend to see Trinitarian connotations in this number since the Lord has revealed himself to us as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Four often symbolizes the world, or God's creation. This goes back to the idea that the "four corners of the earth" (Ezek 7:2; cf. Rev 7:1), the "four quarters of the earth" (Isa 11:12), or the "four winds" (Jer 49:36; Ezek 7:9; Zech 6:5; Dan 7:2; cf. Matt 24:31//Mark 13:27; Rev 7:1) - i.e., north, south, east, and west - together encompass the whole of creation.

Five, the number of fingers on the human hand, describes a "handful" or a "few."

Ten - two "handfuls" - represents "several." Neither ten nor five should necessarily be interpreted literally in apocalyptic writings.

Seven is the number of "fullness," "completeness," "perfection." In some texts this number carries connotations of goodness or morality, for the author is thinking of persons or things being "complete" in the sense of being everything God intends them to be. However, the dominant meaning for seven is not "perfection" in the sense of being morally faultless, but "perfection" in the sense of being "complete" or "whole." We may trace the origin of this symbol to Old Testament texts such as Genesis 1-2, where seven days form a "complete" week.

Six is one less than seven; it does not "measure up" to seven or attain to the fullness of seven. Six, then, symbolizes "incompleteness," "imperfection," and sometimes evil.

Eight, in Christian apocalypses, symbolizes Jesus Christ. For an explanation, see the comments on Revelation 13:18.

Twelve tends to represent the people of God - those who love him and serve him faithfully (i.e., Law-keeping Jews in Jewish apocalypses and faithful Christians in Christian apocalypses). The idea no doubt comes from the Old Testament, where the twelve tribes of Israel together form the covenant community of God.

Multiples of these numbers typically represent the "fullness" or complete number of the thing symbolized. For example, the 144,000 (12 12 1000) in Revelation 7 represent the full number of the people of God. Other symbolic numbers used in Revelation will be explained at appropriate points in the commentary.

e. Pseudonymity

Rather than writing in their own names, apocalyptists typically employ pseudonyms, or false names. They attribute their works to an ancient hero such as Abraham, Jacob, or Ezra. What is the reason for this practice? Various theories have been put forward.

Many apocalypses (including Revelation) were composed in times of persecution. Some suggest that the pseudonyms and mysterious symbols are aimed at hiding the author's identity and message from hostile political authorities. One may question how successful this tactic would have been. Could any of John's neighbors read his description of the Whore of Babylon (Revelation 17) without seeing in it a criticism of Rome?

Apocalyptic literature became popular during the first and second centuries B.C., as Jewish prophecy declined and the Old Testament canon was being finalized. At the same time, Greco-Roman society tended to devalue the present and glorify the past. All of these factors would have made it difficult for newer theologians to gain a hearing. Perhaps they attributed their works to respected ancient luminaries in order to deceive their readers and add authority to their message. They pretended to predict events leading up to their own time, and thereby added credibility to their real predictions concerning the readers' future. The difficulty with this theory is that it assumes a great deal of gullibility on the part of the readers. Would many people really believe that writings of Enoch, the seventh descendant of Adam (Gen 5:18-24), had suddenly appeared in the second century B.C.?

It seems more likely that pseudonymity was openly used as a literary device. In other words, the readers knew very well that the writer was not Jacob or Moses or Ezra. Attributing a book to one of these Jewish heroes was a way of saying: What you are about to read is an apocalypse, so read and understand it as such. The "pen name" was chosen according to the subject matter of the apocalypse. For example, Baruch was the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah, who interprets the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in the sixth century B.C. (Jer 32:12-16; 36; 43:1-6; 45:1-2). Similarly, the author of the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch writes of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. He presents himself as a "second Baruch" helping his readers understand why God again allowed the holy city to fall.

Whereas most apocalypses are pseudonymous, Revelation proves the exception to the rule. As we will see below (Part IV), John writes in his own name.

2. Common Features of Apocalyptic Theology

In addition to sharing a distinctive form of writing, Jewish and Christian apocalyptists tend to hold a number of common convictions concerning God and his ways with the world. This distinctive apocalyptic theology, or worldview, is rooted in the Old Testament. At the risk of oversimplifying a complex matter, we will trace the historical development of the apocalyptic worldview through three primary, overlapping stages: the Old Testament period, the intertestamental period, and the New Testament period.

a. Roots of Apocalyptic Theology in the Old Testament Period

(1) Genesis 1-5. Several key elements of apocalyptic theology appear in the opening chapters of Genesis, the foundational book of the Old Testament. First, God exists and he is the creator of all that is, including human beings. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). God made humankind, both male and female, in his own image and his own likeness (Gen 1:26-27).

Second, by virtue of the fact that he is creator, God is also the owner, the king, the sovereign Lord over all creation. This truth is implicit in Genesis but is made explicit elsewhere in the Old Testament. For example, the Psalms proclaim that

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters (Ps 24:1-2).

God is the King of all the earth (Ps 47:7).

As creator and king, God alone has the right to decide what his world should be - what he considers "good" in his creation and what he considers "evil."

Third, as sovereign Lord, God created the world good. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen 1:31) - that is, pleasing to God, perfectly conforming to his will.

Fourth, Genesis does not state that human beings are immortal by nature. Instead, the first humans, Adam and Eve, were created mortal and their lives were sustained only by God's provision. God placed the tree of life in the center of the garden so that, by eating its fruit, the man and the woman could potentially live forever (Gen 2:9; 3:22). Life is the gift of God and is sustained by God alone at his good pleasure.

Fifth, God's creatures have rebelled against his sovereign will, thus introducing "sin" or "evil" into God's "good" creation. According to Genesis 2:16-17, God issued one command to Adam:

You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.

Chapter 3 describes how one of God's creatures, the serpent (discussed below), tempted Eve to sin - that is, to "be like God" by deciding good and evil for herself (Gen 3:5). (Note that the Book of Genesis implies a rebellion against God on the part of the serpent that preceded the rebellion of Adam and Eve.) As a result, she and Adam disobeyed God, ate the forbidden fruit, and thus introduced sin into the human race (Gen 3:6).

Sixth, God has responded to the sin of his creatures by pronouncing several terrible judgments: He cursed the serpent and promised that the woman's "offspring" would crush its head and thereby destroy it (Gen 3:14-15). He condemned the woman to pains in childbearing and domination by her husband (Gen 3:16). He cursed the ground so that it would resist Adam's efforts to cultivate it and would bear fruit only through painful toil (Gen 3:17-19). Finally, God kept the promise made in Genesis 2:17 by condemning Adam and Eve to death. Genesis 3:22-24 reads:

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Separated from the tree of life, "nature" took its course: Adam and Eve - and their descendants after them - eventually died (see Gen 5:5-31).

Note that, within the framework of Genesis, death is the destruction of God's creation. Furthermore, it is God's penalty for sin, for the idolatrous effort to be one's own "god" by deciding good and evil for oneself. Human beings die as a result of their own sin (e.g., Adam and Eve themselves) and/or as a result of their ancestor's sin (Adam and Eve's descendants - including, for example, innocent babies who sometimes die not because they have rebelled against God on their own, but because they have been cut off from the tree of life due to the sin of their ancestors) and as a result of the serpent's sin (since the serpent played a role in the fall of Adam and Eve, which led to their death and that of their descendants). As the Apostle Paul would later phrase it, "the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23).

(2) Promised Salvation from Sin and Death. However, throughout the Old Testament, God, in his grace and mercy, declares that he will not allow sin and death to have the last word. For example, he vows that Adam and Eve's "offspring" will crush the serpent's head (Gen 3:14-15). He swears to the nomad Abraham that "all people on earth will be blessed through you" (Gen 12:3). He promises King David that, "when your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom . . . forever" (2 Sam 7:12-13). To the prophet Isaiah God reveals his future plans: "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind" (Isa 65:17).

b. Development of Jewish Apocalyptic Theology in the Intertestamental Period

(1) Rebellion in Heaven . In reading the Old Testament and attempting to discern the truths contained in it, Jewish apocalyptists draw the logical conclusion that the serpent of Genesis 3 must have been an angel who rebelled against God. After all, the Scripture says that, "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). The "heavens and earth" include everything that exists - both the natural, "earthly" realities and the supernatural, "heavenly" realities. Therefore the serpent must have been some sort of creature of God.

This talking "serpent" was certainly unlike other serpents; it apparently did not belong to the natural sphere. Therefore it must have been some sort of supernatural creature - a heavenly or angelic being.

Genesis states that " all that [God] had made" was "very good" (Gen 1:31), and yet the serpent reveals itself to be very evil by tempting humans to sin. Apparently, the "serpent" was an angel who had fallen away from God - a heavenly creature who had surrendered its original goodness and rebelled against the creator. Jewish apocalyptists conclude, then, that the "serpent" must have been a supernatural, angelic being (known to Christians as the "devil" or "Satan"), and that rebellion against God in the heavenly sphere must have preceded Adam and Eve's rebellion against God in the earthly sphere.

This type of interpretation of the Genesis story is found, for example, in 2 Enoch, a Jewish apocalypse dating to the late first century A.D.:

But [Satanail] from the order of the archangels deviated, together with the division [of angels] that was under his authority. He thought up the impossible idea, that he might place his throne higher than the clouds which are above the earth, and that he might become equal to my [i.e., God's] power.

And I hurled him out from the height, together with his angels [to the earthly sphere] . . . . And he will become a demon, because he fled from heaven; Sotona, because his name was Satanail. In this way he did become different from the angels. His nature did not change, [but] his thought did, since his consciousness of righteous and sinful things changed. And he became aware of his condemnation and of the sin which he sinned previously. And that is why he thought up the scheme against Adam. In such a form he entered paradise, and corrupted Eve (2 Enoch 29:4-5 and 31:4-6 [J]).

This passage from 2 Enoch also illustrates another important aspect of apocalyptic theology: While there was a rebellion against God in the heavenly sphere, this rebellion did not succeed. The rebels were put down and God maintained his sovereignty. Apocalyptic writers often express this conviction by speaking of God binding the devil and his angels in prison (e.g., 1 Enoch 10:4-6; cf. 18:12-19:1; 21:1-6; Test. Levi 18:12; Mark 3:26-27; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6) or casting them out of heaven onto the earth (as in the passage quoted above). Defeated on the supernatural plane, they continue their warfare on the natural plane by inciting human beings to join their fight against God.

(2) The Present Evil Age and the Kingdom of Satan . As noted above, Genesis 3 attributes pains in childbearing, painful toil, and human death to God's judgment against the sin of Adam and Eve. Jewish apocalyptists read the Scripture, consider the outcome of the Fall, and draw this conclusion: The sin of Adam and Eve caused the world to be afflicted not only with the judgments mentioned above, but with all manner of evils. To illustrate, 2 Baruch (ca. A.D. 100) maintains that

When [Adam] transgressed, untimely death came into being, mourning was mentioned, affliction was prepared, illness was created, labor accomplished, pride began to come into existence, the realm of death began to ask to be renewed with blood, the conception of children came about, the passion of the parents was produced, the loftiness of men was humiliated, and goodness vanished (2 Apoc. Bar. 56 @ :6).

Realizing that the entire human race has been adversely affected by Adam's sin, the author of 4 Ezra (ca. A.D. 100) comes close to despair:

It would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or else, when it had produced him, had restrained him from sinning. . . . O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, the fall was not yours alone, but ours also who are your descendants (4 Ezra 7:46[116], 48[118]).

Yet Adam does not shoulder the whole blame for warping God's creation. All creatures (both human and angelic) who choose evil over the good, who ally themselves with Satan against God, contribute toward the ruin of God's handiwork. Second Baruch declares:

. . . although Adam sinned first and has brought death upon all who were not in his own time, yet each of them who has been born from him has prepared for himself the coming torment [i.e., the coming judgment/punishment for sin]. . . . Adam is, therefore, not the cause [of "destruction," or "retribution"], except only for himself, but each of us has become our own Adam (2 Apoc. Bar. 54:15a, 19).

Jewish apocalyptists and other writers of their era refer to this world corrupted with evils, this world marred by death, this world fallen away from its original goodness, using a number of different terms. For example, they call it "the present evil age" - they claim that the "present age" is characterized by "evil." They describe this fallen world as the "kingdom of Satan" - that is, a world where Satan and his allies (both human and angelic) exercise a degree of "kingdom" or "kingship" or "rule," a degree of power and influence. Human beings have collaborated with Satan to transform God's good creation into the "present evil age," the "kingdom of Satan," a world twisted and ruined by evil and death.

(3) The Eschatological Age and the Kingdom of God . The Jewish apocalyptists are hardheaded realists who see more clearly than most the nature and pervasiveness of evil in the created order. Still, they do not despair, for they believe the Old Testament promises of redemption. Though extremely pessimistic about the ability of human beings to purge the world of evil, they are extremely optimistic that God will prove true to his word. They trust that God will someday break into history and radically transform the cosmos, that he will "create new heavens and a new earth" through his promised Redeemer. Then sickness and death will be no more. No more will the untamed forces of nature maim and destroy. God will wipe away all tears and restore broken relationships. He will put an end to sin and evil and demonic activity in the world. Death will give way to eternal life. Now evil is tolerated, but then God will suffer evil no more. Now we are living in the "present evil age," but then God will inaugurate a "new age" or "last age" or "eschatological age" (from the Greek term e[scato" [ eschatos ], which means "last"). Now we know only the perversion of creation, but then God will make a "new creation." Now the world is the "kingdom of Satan," but then he will transform it into the "kingdom of God."

(4) The Shift of the Ages. Through what sequence of events will this radical reconfiguration of all things come about? In general, the Jewish apocalyptists anticipate that the world will first undergo a time of terrible "distress" or "tribulation" as Satan and his allies make one last attempt to overcome God and his people. They liken this period of turmoil to the "woes" or "birth pains" that a woman endures in childbirth. In their minds, this time of suffering for God's people will be the "labor pains" preceding the "birth" of the "new creation."

Second, God will send the promised Savior and Redeemer, the Messiah and Christ, the Son of David and Son of Abraham.

Third, they predict that the "labor pains" and the coming of the Messiah will be followed by a great day (sometimes called the "day of the Lord") in which God will suddenly raise the dead (either all the dead or only the servants of God, depending on the writer) to new life.

Fourth, the Messiah will carry out God's final judgment against all his enemies. In other words, God, through his Messiah, will set all wrongs right and put an end to the evil that pollutes his creation. Satan, his angels, and humans allied with them will either be annihilated or forced to suffer an eternal punishment (depending on the writer).

The end result will be a "new age" or "new creation" in which every aspect will conform to God's good and perfect will - the "consummation" of the kingdom of God, or the coming of God's sovereign rule in its fullness.

Who will participate in this new world? Virtually all the Jewish apocalyptists agree that only righteous, covenant-keeping Jews who obey the Law of Moses (not Gentiles) will inherit a place in the consummated kingdom of God.

These sorts of expectations are characteristic features of Jewish apocalyptic theology - common elements of the apocalyptists' understanding of God and his dealings with the world. To illustrate, most are found in two passages from the book of Daniel, a Jewish apocalypse included in the Christian canon.

In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream in which he sees an enormous statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet made partly of iron and partly of baked clay. As the king watches, a rock "cut out, but not by human hands" (i.e., cut out by God) strikes the statue and shatters it to dust. Then the rock becomes a huge mountain that fills the whole earth (see Dan 2:31-35). In verses 36-45 Daniel interprets the vision, telling Nebuchadnezzar:

. . . You, O king, are the king of kings. . . . You are that head of gold.

After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron - for iron breaks and smashes everything - and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. . . .

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

Daniel predicts that a series of temporal, human kingdoms (represented by the statue) will be replaced (on the "day of the Lord" at the "final judgment") by the eternal kingdom of God (represented by the rock).

Other common elements of Jewish apocalyptic theology appear in Daniel 12:1-3:

At that time [the archangel] Michael, the great prince who protects your people [ = the Jews], will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then [ = the period of "labor pains"]. But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book - will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake [ = the resurrection]: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt [ = the division made between the righteous and unrighteous at the final judgment]. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness [ = obedience to the Mosaic Law], like the stars for ever and ever.

(5) Apocalyptic Transcendence, Dualism, and Pessimism. We have seen that the Jewish apocalyptists hold a transcendent worldview. They believe that beyond the visible, material, earthly, physical realities, there lie invisible, immaterial, heavenly, spiritual realities. Spiritual powers influence the material universe in significant ways. The apocalyptic worldview makes room for the supernatural.

Since some angels and some humans oppose God, apocalyptic theology also includes a strong element of dualism. In other words, there are two opposing powers in the world - the evil and the good. What we are witnessing in history is a struggle between the forces of good (God, his angels, his righteous servants) and the forces of evil (Satan, demonic powers, unrighteous persons who do not submit to the Lord). Apocalyptists do not believe in an absolute dualism, for the power of Satan and his allies is not equal to that of the creator and Lord of all. However, evil powers do exercise a degree of influence in the world because the sovereign God - for the time being - permits it. One of the reasons the righteous suffer is that they are being attacked and persecuted by the enemies of God, both human and demonic.

Most apocalypses come out of communities experiencing such persecution firsthand. Their prolonged struggle with evil has led them to a certain kind of pessimism. The Old Testament prophets look for God's good purposes to be worked out within the historical process - in the world as we know it. In contrast, Jewish apocalyptists do not expect the world to improve. They doubt that human beings will ever overcome evil to build a good, just, and godly society on their own.

(6) Apocalyptic Optimism, Determinism, and Triumph. Although they are pessimistic about humanity's ability to redeem a fallen world, the apocalyptists are optimistic that God will do just that. From the Old Testament, they know that God is good, just, powerful, and true. If he is good, then he will not allow evil to stand forever. If he is just, then he will punish the wicked and reward the righteous. If he is powerful, then he can do it; and if he can do it, then he will do it. But if this is so, then why do so many of God's faithful servants suffer hardship, poverty, and even violent death? If this is so, then why do so many of the wicked live prosperous lives and then die peacefully in bed? With remarkable faith, apocalyptic writers conclude that God will be true to himself and true to his promises. He will punish evildoers and vindicate his holy people - if not before death then after death, if not in this life then in another, if not in this world then in a new world created just for them. History has a goal predetermined by God: The Sovereign Lord will redeem his fallen creation, purging it from evil and bringing every detail into conformity with his good and perfect will. The Lord will indeed triumph; his kingdom will come.

c. Development of Christian Apocalyptic Theology in the New Testament Period

Against this background, we now turn our attention to the New Testament period. When the German theologian Ernst Käsemann identifies Jewish apocalyptic as "the mother of Christian theology," he is not far off the mark. When Jesus of Nazareth arrives on the scene, he confirms that much of the apocalyptists' interpretation of the Old Testament is correct. Influenced by Jesus and the first disciples taught by him, New Testament writers introduce many elements of Jewish apocalyptic theology into the Christian Bible. Some elements they adopt wholesale; others they modify or transform as their insight into God's purpose - enacted through Christ - surpasses that of their predecessors. Christian theology, then, is largely apocalyptic theology.

(1) Supernatural Forces of Evil . New Testament writers share the apocalyptists' belief in both the earthly and heavenly, the natural and supernatural spheres. Behind the evils plaguing this world - behind the deeply rooted systemic wickedness, behind the sophisticated lies that have for centuries held entire civilizations captive under false worldviews - lies an intelligence, a power beside and beyond that of mere human beings. As Paul says,

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood [i.e., human beings - creatures of the earthly, natural sphere], but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly [supernatural] realms (Eph 6:12).

(2) Adam and the Present Evil Age. New Testament writers also hold to the notion of the "kingdom of Satan" or "present evil age" - an era marred by sin and death that begins with the rebellion of Adam and ends with the consummation of God's kingdom. To illustrate, Paul maintains that

. . . sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, . . . many died by the trespass of the one man . . . . The judgment [of God] followed one sin and brought condemnation . . . . by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man . . . (Rom 5:12,15,16,17).

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed [at the resurrection]. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay [including death] and brought into the glorious freedom [from decay] of the children of God (Rom 8:19-21).

(3) The Kingdom of God and the Ministry of Jesus . Working from within this kind of apocalyptic worldview, New Testament writers show that Jesus - in his words and even more so in his deeds - claimed to be the promised Messiah, the one sent by God to annihilate the kingdom of Satan and inaugurate the kingdom of God. As 1 John 3:8 words it, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."

That this was Jesus' purpose and mission is seen in every aspect of his ministry. For example, the coming of God's kingdom was the subject of Jesus' preaching, as shown by the summary of his message found in Mark 1:14-15:

After John [the Baptist] was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news [or "gospel"] of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Note that the "gospel" message, according to Jesus, is the proclamation of the "good news" - the apocalyptic promise - that God will soon annihilate evil and transform the entire cosmos to conform to his will.

God's coming kingdom was also the focus of Jesus' teaching. For example, in teaching his disciples to pray, Jesus tells them:

This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:9-10).

When Jesus calls on people to repent and "leave your life of sin" (John 8:11), he is urging them to turn away from evil - to renounce their alliance with Satan (whether conscious or unconscious) and conform their lives to the coming "kingdom" or "rule" or "Lordship" of God. When Jesus forgives sins as only God can (see, e.g., Luke 5:17-26), he shows that God - through his Messiah Jesus - is in the process of doing away with evil, in the process of wiping away the sin that has corrupted his creation for so long. When Jesus gathers disciples to himself and commands them to "love each other as I have loved you" (see, e.g., John 15:12), then he is beginning to form the community of the "eschatological age," when men and women from all nations will live together in peace forever under the beneficent kingship of God.

Jesus' miracles also proclaim the "good news" of God's emerging kingdom. They show that, in the person of Jesus the Christ, God has entered into his sinful, fallen, perverted creation in order to set things right - to reestablish his kingdom rule over it. For example, by healing the sick, Jesus shows that God is going to put an end to the pain and suffering and misery that have warped his good creation. This is why Jesus, in Luke 10:8-9, gives these instructions to his disciples when he sends them out with authority to preach and heal in his name:

When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, "The kingdom of God is near you" (italics added for emphasis here and throughout the commentary).

He says, when you heal the sick, you must not forget to tell them what it means - what it signifies. The healings are intended to show that the kingdom or lordship of God is near - that it is becoming a reality through the Messiah Jesus (here working through his disciples).

When Jesus exorcises demons, he shows that God is in the process of destroying the kingdom of Satan and establishing the kingdom of God. To illustrate, Luke 11:14-20 recounts how, on one occasion,

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebub [another name for Satan], the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God [i.e., by the power of God], then the kingdom of God has [already] come to you."

When Jesus calms the storm and walks on water (see Matt 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21), he shows that even the forces of nature - all God's creation - will be brought under his lordship so that they bend to his will and no longer hurt and destroy. When Jesus resuscitates the dead (e.g., Lazarus in John 11), he points forward to the day when all God's people will be raised up to eternal life in his consummated kingdom.

(4) The Kingdom of God and the Death of Jesus . What is the relationship between Jesus' death on the cross and the kingdom of God? During the Old Testament period, covenants - i.e., formal relationships between two parties - were established or sealed through animal sacrifices. To illustrate, Exodus 24:1-11 describes how God established a covenant with the people of Israel that was mediated by Moses (the so-called "Mosaic Covenant"). The Law of the Lord was read to the people, specifying the behavior that would be required of them in their new relationship with God. Israel then "responded with one voice, 'Everything the Lord has said we will do'" ( vv. 3,7). They agreed to enter into the type of covenantal relationship with God described by the Law. Next, animals were sacrificed and Moses sealed the covenant with blood: He "took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you'" ( v. 8) - i.e., the sacrificial blood that seals or establishes the Mosaic Covenant. Finally, the elders of Israel, on behalf of the entire nation, ascended Mount Sinai, saw God, and ate and drank with him. They shared a "covenant meal" celebrating the new relationship with God Israel now enjoyed through the blood sacrifices.

During his last meal with his disciples - on the evening before his crucifixion - Jesus took simple bread and a cup of wine, and he used them to offer the most detailed explanation of his death in the Gospels:

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilllment in the kingdom of God."

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:14-20).

Jesus says, "This is my body given for you (uJpeÉr uJmw'n, hyper hymôn) . . . . my blood, which is poured out for you (hyper hymôn)." Although not readily apparent in English translation, this is sacrificial language from the Greek version of the Old Testament. Jesus is saying that his impending death will be a sacrifice. But what kind of sacrifice? The Lord tells them: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." He uses language nearly identical to that employed in Exodus 24:8 ("This is the blood of the covenant") to identify his death precisely as the kind of sacrifice that establishes a covenant. What covenant? Not the Mosaic Covenant, but a "new covenant." What, then, is the significance of the ritual meal of bread and wine - the "Eucharist" or "Lord's Supper" Jesus commands his disciples to observe "in remembrance of me"? It is the "covenant meal" celebrating the establishment of the "new covenant" through Jesus' sacrifice. Who participates in this "new covenant"? God, who sent Jesus to establish the covenant, and Jesus' disciples - those from "all nations" (see Matt 28:19), Jews and Gentiles alike , who accept God's lordship over their lives as exercised through his Messiah. In other words, those persons to whom the "covenant meal" is offered. Finally, when may Jesus' disciples participate in this "new covenant" relationship with God? The answer is: Both now and, more completely, in the future. The "new covenant" was established in the past by Jesus' sacrificial death. It is in place now, in the present , so that Jesus' disciples - who were once "God's enemies" - are now at "peace with God" and "reconciled to him through the death of his Son" (Rom 5:1,10). Yet disciples of Christ will experience this new relationship with God on an even deeper, more intimate level, in the future - when they are raised from the dead, when they "see him as he is" (1 John 3:2), when the new covenant "finds fulfilllment in the [consummated] kingdom of God."

Who participates in the Kingdom of God - the coming "new creation" in which every detail will conform to the will of God? All those who share in the "new covenant." And who participates in the "new covenant"? All those who choose to be disciples of Jesus. All those who conform to the will of God as he makes that will known through his Messiah. All those who embrace God's kingdom rule over their lives in Christ. In essence, Jesus offers "all nations" a place in the kingdom of God now in the form of the "new covenant" established by his sacrificial death. This truth is extremely important: Jesus' death on the cross forgives sins not merely in the sense that, through it, God pardons wrong deeds. (The sinner receiving such a pardon would still be trapped in a fallen world and doomed to death.) Jesus' death forgives sins in the sense that it provides an escape from the "present evil age" - and entrance into the emerging kingdom of God - in the form of a "new covenant" relationship with God. By his sacrificial death, Jesus shattered the kingdom of Satan, the powers of sin and death, and thus established the kingdom of God. The New Testament writers testify to this wonderful truth:

. . . the Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father . . . (Gal 1:3-4).

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Heb 2:14-15).

[God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14).

. . . our Savior, Christ Jesus, . . . has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Tim 1:10).

Since death came through a man [Adam], the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man [Jesus Christ] (1 Cor 15:21).

Jesus is the full realization of the Old Testament and apocalyptic hopes. He is the "son of Adam" who crushes the serpent's head for his disciples by dying to make a place for them in God's kingdom. He is the "Son of Abraham" who offers this blessing to "all people on earth." He is the "Son of David" who rules over an eternal Kingdom - not through military force, but by dying as a sacrifice for his people. He is the promised one who freely offers "new heavens and a new earth" to all who desire it - to everyone willing to live as his disciple, willing to accept the beneficent rule of God over his or her life.

(5) The Kingdom of God and the Resurrection of Jesus . Jesus died on the cross, and on the third day - much to the surprise of his disciples - God raised him from the dead. What is the meaning and significance of his resurrection? Many answers to that question are found in the New Testament, but we shall mention only four: First, the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead means that he is our contemporary, that he continues to live and work among us. His Spirit is continuously present with us today in accordance with the promise he gave to his first disciples: "Surely I am with you always, to the consummation of the age" (Matt 28:20).

Second, Jesus' return from the grave shows that life after death is possible. Furthermore, such life takes the form of resurrection, by which the biblical writers mean transformed, bodily existence in the eschatological age . Resurrection is a bodily form of existence in the sense that, like the risen Jesus, raised persons possess bodies (sw'ma, sôma). They are not ghosts or disembodied spirits. Like Jesus, they also retain their memories, their personalities, their identities - everything that made them who they were before death, everything that made them some body . (The Greek idea of the sôma includes both the "body" in the sense of the "physical frame" and the "body" in the sense of the "person.") Resurrection is a transformed kind of existence in the sense that, like Jesus, raised persons enjoy a better, higher, more glorious, more exalted, more lasting form of existence than they knew before death. Resurrection is existence in the eschatological age in the sense described below.

Third, the resurrection of Jesus marks the beginning of the general resurrection of the righteous anticipated by the apocalyptists. Thus Paul calls Christ "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor 15:20) and "the firstborn from among the dead" (Col 1:18) - that is, the first of many to rise from death to eternal life. This is why Christ's resurrection was more than an anomaly, why it gives Christians sure hope for their own resurrection. Jesus' emergence from the tomb shows that the apocalyptists' hopes were not misplaced - that there is indeed such a thing as the resurrection, that it has begun, and that we should expect for many more to be raised in the future. When will this "general resurrection" take place? Jesus indicated that it would occur at his "Second Coming" or "Parousia" (from the Greek term parousiva for "coming," "arrival" or "appearing"), when he returns to carry out the final judgment and consummate the kingdom of God. Paul describes this event in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming [ parousia ] of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words (1 Thess 4:13-18).

From that time forward, "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Rev 21:4).

Fourth, the resurrection of Jesus marks the beginning of the eschatological age and the kingdom of God. The Jewish apocalyptists had predicted that the resurrection of the dead would announce the coming of God's kingdom (see above). The resurrection of Jesus, "the firstborn from among the dead," showed his first disciples that the anticipated event had begun - that God was beginning to fulfilll his eschatological promises, that the kingdom of God had arrived. At the same time, the fact that sin and evil continued to mar the world, the fact that human beings continued to die, demonstrated to first century Christians that the kingdom of Satan had not yet entirely passed away. In light of these two undeniable realities (the continued presence of evil in the world and the eschatological event of Christ's resurrection), they concluded that God's intention must be to establish his kingdom more gradually than the Jewish apocalyptists had anticipated. In other words, the "present evil age" and the "eschatological age" would coexist - or "overlap" - for a time.

Day of the

Sin of Adam Lord

& Eve

PRESENT EVIL AGE

(Kingdom of Satan)

Eternal life for

"Labor pains" righteous Jews and Gentiles

Rebellion ("overlap" of the ages)

in heaven

ESCHATOLOGICAL AGE

(Kingdom of God)

Creation Messiah comes Messiah returns

Resurrection

Final Judgment

Fig. 2. The Shape of Christian Apocalyptic Theology

In the recent past, the kingdom of God had invaded the kingdom of Satan with the coming, the ministry, the death, and the resurrection of the Messiah. In the present (which becomes the period of "labor pains" in Christian theology - see below), God is allowing the two kingdoms, the two realities, to coexist. The "new covenant" is in place and Christians are embracing the kingdom of God over their lives; but death, the "last enemy," has not yet been completely "destroyed." In the future, however, Christ will return a second time to annihilate the kingdom of Satan and consummate the kingdom of God. In this way, Jesus' resurrection from the dead gave Christian theology its distinctive shape as compared to Jewish apocalyptic theology (compare Fig. 2 with Fig. 1).

Romans 13:11-14 shows that the Apostle Paul arrived at this understanding of God's actions in Christ. In this text, he compares the kingdom of Satan to the darkness or nighttime and the kingdom of God to the light or daytime:

And do this [i.e., live as kingdom people by obeying Christ's command to "love one another"], understanding the present time [oJ nu'n kairov" ( ho nyn kairos ), Paul's technical term for the "overlap" of the ages]. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber [i.e., act as if the daytime/kingdom of God has arrived and the nighttime/kingdom of Satan has ended], because our salvation [i.e., our resurrection to eternal life in the consummated kingdom of God] is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over [i.e., the kingdom of Satan has not entirely ended, but its days are numbered]; the day is almost here [i.e., the kingdom of God has not yet completely arrived, but it has "dawned"]. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime [i.e., as if God's kingdom rule had already fully come], not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

That the "overlap" of the ages was Jesus' own understanding of God's plan is shown by his masterful Parable of the Weeds:

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven [ = the kingdom of God - the sovereignty God exercises from the heavenly sphere, rather than any human sovereignty exercised from the earthly sphere] is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

"'An enemy did this,' he replied.

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

"'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together [ = the "overlap" of the ages when the kingdom of Satan and kingdom of God coexist - see the interpretation of the parable given below] until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man [i.e., Jesus, the Messiah, who inaugurates the kingdom of God by preaching the gospel and dying as the sacrifice that makes it possible for people to become disciples/participants in the "new covenant"/"sons of the kingdom"]. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age [i.e., the final judgment when a division is made between the wicked and the righteous, when the "present evil age" is ended and the "eschatological age" comes in its fullness], and the harvesters are angels.

"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. [Note that Jesus considers the field/world to be his kingdom. God has never surrendered his good creation to the evil one, but at the final judgment will root out and destroy his evil works.] They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth [i.e., eschatological condemnation for the wicked]. Then the righteous will shine like the sun [i.e., the radiant glory of the resurrection body] in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear" (Matt 13:24-30,36-43).

d. Major Differences between Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Theology

Jewish apocalyptic is indeed "the mother of Christian theology." The first Christians interpret Jesus in apocalyptic terms, as the Lord himself taught them to do. However, while Jesus does fulfill apocalyptic expectations, he does not do it in the way most Jews expect. Consequently, their first-hand experience with God's Messiah leads the early Christians to recast apocalyptic theology in several significant ways (again, compare Fig. 1 with Fig. 2).

(1) Identity of the Messiah . Christian apocalyptic writers name Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah who destroys the kingdom of Satan and establishes the kingdom of God. Non-Christian Jewish apocalyptists do not, of course, make that identification.

(2) The Coming of God's Kingdom. From the point of view of Jewish apocalyptists, the coming of God's kingdom rule lies in the future, at the long-anticipated "Day of the Lord." In contrast, Jesus' first disciples see the kingdom as both a present and a future reality. They proclaim not that God has made promises that he will someday fulfill, but that he has made promises that he has already begun to fulfill in their own lifetime. The kingdom of God has begun to appear with the first coming of Jesus. With his Second Coming it will reach its sudden and swift consummation. In other words, for Jewish apocalyptists the kingdom of God comes suddenly in the future. For Christian apocalyptists it comes more gradually, in two stages.

Scholars sometimes refer to this idea as "the already, but not yet" of Christian theology. The kingdom of God has already broken into history with the coming of Jesus, but it has not yet come in its fullness. Another way of saying this is that Christian theology contains a strong element of "realized eschatology." This is the belief that many of the eschatological events (e.g., the "labor pains," the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection, the coming of God's kingdom) are already, to some extent, being "realized" or experienced in the present.

(3) The "Labor Pains." Jewish apocalyptists view the period immediately preceding the consummation of God's kingdom as the "labor pains" - a time of intense suffering and persecution for God's people. Christian writers agree that the "labor pains" precede the consummation. However, they differ from their predecessors by identifying the "labor pains" with the period between Christ's first and second comings - the "overlap" of the ages.

(4) Participants in God's Kingdom . Both Jewish and Christian apocalyptists agree that resurrection to eternal life in the consummated kingdom of God is for the "righteous" - that is, for covenant-keepers. They disagree regarding which covenant leads to this salvation. Jewish apocalyptists reserve resurrection to life for persons who participate in the Mosaic covenant and obey the Mosaic Law. In most cases, this limits salvation to Jews, since the Mosaic Law was given to the Jewish people. Christian apocalyptists believe that salvation comes to those who share in the new covenant established by Christ's sacrificial death. This new covenant is based not on Jewish descent, but on "faith" or commitment to God/Christ as Lord. It therefore opens the way for both Jews and Gentiles to enter the rule of God.

(5) Expectation and Fulfillment. The gap between Jewish expectation and the actual fulfilllment of God's promises proved a stumbling block to many Jews of the first century. Luke shows that even John the Baptist was bewildered by the way in which Jesus carried out his messianic mission:

John's disciples told him about all these things [Jesus was doing]. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. [As we have seen, all these activities are manifestations of the end of Satan's rule and the coming of God's rule through Jesus the Messiah.] Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me" (Luke 7:18-23//Matt 11:2-6).

In other words, blessed is the one who does not miss the coming of the Messiah and God's kingdom because Jesus does not fulfill the apocalyptic prophecies in the way that most Jews expect.

The Revelation of John is an expression of Christian apocalyptic theology in the apocalyptic form. For this reason, its message goes far beyond that of non-Christian apocalypses. Christian theology is rooted in Jewish apocalyptic theology, but Jesus Christ transforms apocalyptic expectation in significant ways.

IV. AUTHOR, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING,

OCCASION, AND FIRST READERS

Before examining the message of Revelation, we must first address several important introductory questions concerning this book: Who is the author? When was the book written? Where was the author when he wrote the book? To whom was Revelation written? What occasion or situation does the author address? In seeking answers to these questions, we will examine both internal evidence (i.e., answers found within Revelation itself) and external evidence (i.e., clues to the origin of Revelation from outside the book).

A. INTERNAL EVIDENCE

In the first chapter of Revelation, the author provides us with important information concerning himself and his intended readers:

John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia: (Rev 1:4)

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea" (Rev 1:9-11).

1. First Readers

The author identifies his audience as "the seven churches in the province of Asia" - specifically the Christian congregations in the cities of "Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." The Roman "province of Asia" made up the western third of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), with Ephesus serving as the provincial capital. The churches here had historical ties to the Apostle Paul, who established several congregations in this region during the late 40s and early 50s. For two or three years, Paul used Ephesus as his base of operations for training leaders and evangelizing the whole province (see Acts 19:8-10). John's "seven churches" may refer to seven literal churches. However, since the number "seven" tends to symbolize "completeness" in apocalyptic literature, these churches probably represent the whole of the Christian community in Asia.

The Asian churches were mixed bodies of Gentile and Jewish believers, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the province. By the late first century, about one million Jews made their homes in Asia Minor where they established more than fifty synagogues. Some had migrated to Asia from Palestine after the Jewish revolt against Rome in A.D. 66-73. Jewish Christians from Palestine would have been familiar with apocalyptic, for many apocalypses were produced in Palestine during this period.

2. Author

The author's name is "John." He calls himself a "brother" - that is, a Christian. He functions as a prophet or spokesman for God.

Revelation contains several indications that the author was a Palestinian Jew: First, the name "John" (=Iwavnnh", Iôannçs), a Greek form of the Hebrew "Johanan" (meaning "the LORD is gracious"), was common among first century Jews. Second, the structure and phrasing of Revelation suggest that the author thought in Hebrew (the original language of the Jewish Scriptures) and/or Aramaic (the closely related language spoken by ethnic Jews in Palestine). He spoke Greek only as a second language. Third, through over one hundred allusions to the Scriptures, the author demonstrates extensive knowledge of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, as well as the Greek. Fourth, John writes in the apocalyptic genre, which was most popular in Jewish circles in Palestine. Finally, symbols such as Armageddon (Rev 16:16), the new Jerusalem (21:2), and the temple (11:1-2) are based on actual places located in Palestine (although such knowledge could have been drawn not from firsthand exposure but from the Old Testament). It may be, then, that the author of Revelation was one of the Jewish Christians who moved to Asia from Palestine due to the war with Rome. Who this "John" was cannot be determined from the book of Revelation in itself.

3. Occasion and Place of Writing

John identifies with his readers by describing himself as their "companion in suffering . . . and patient endurance." John himself has been exiled to the island of Patmos, just off the western coast of Asia, "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Other portions of Revelation (particularly the letters to the seven churches in chs. 2-3) show that at least some of John's readers are also being persecuted for their faith. To Ephesus and Smyrna the Lord writes:

You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary (Rev 2:3).

I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev 2:9-10).

Christ mentions past afflictions, hardships, poverty, and slanders from Jews. When he speaks of "what you are about to suffer," he anticipates still more difficulties to come - persecution, imprisonment, and perhaps even death.

The Lord addresses these words to the church in Pergamum:

I know where you live - where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city - where Satan lives (Rev 2:13).

At the time when John writes Revelation, Christians in Asia are under intense pressure to renounce their faith in Christ. At least one martyrdom (Antipas) has already occurred.

Philadelphia and Laodicea receive these assurances:

I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first (Rev 2:19).

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars - I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth (Rev 3:8-10).

Again we see pressure to deny Christ, troubles with Jews, and an expectation of further hardships to come ("the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world").

The vision of the fifth seal describes multiple Christian martyrs, whose numbers will continue to grow:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed (Rev 6:9-11).

John later sees a woman symbolizing Rome, with a golden cup, "drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Rev 17:6). She has not merely sipped from her gruesome cup; she has gorged herself with the blood of God's people to the point of intoxication. Numerous Christians are being murdered for their loyalty to Christ.

4. Summary

Internal evidence suggests that Revelation was written by a Jewish Christian from Palestine named "John." John received the Revelation on the island of Patmos, where he had been banished for witnessing to Christ. The book addresses all the churches in the Roman province of Asia. Together with John, these believers are being harassed and persecuted because of their commitment to Christ - some to the point of death. At the time of writing, the author expects the suffering to continue and the number of martyrs to grow.

B. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE

Revelation itself gives us a good start in discovering the origins of this book. Yet important questions remain unanswered: When was Revelation written? Precisely why were the first readers being persecuted and killed? Who is John? For insights into these issues, we turn to "external evidence" from outside the New Testament.

1. Author

Regarding the identity of "John," three possibilities seem most likely: First, the author could be John the Apostle, brother of James and son of Zebedee, one of the original Twelve disciples of Jesus (see Matt 10:2). Second, he could be someone writing in the name of John the Apostle, in which case Revelation would be pseudonymous like so many other apocalypses. Third, the writer could be some other person named "John" writing in his own name.

a. "John" a Pseudonym?

Of these three possibilities, we may eliminate the second immediately. Revelation is certainly not pseudonymous - not because such a practice would be unthinkable in a Christian apocalypse, but because the evidence makes this theory untenable. The author of Revelation never gives any indication that he is an Apostle. He simply calls himself a "servant" of God (21:1) and "your brother" (21:9). He recounts no stories or sayings from the ministry of Jesus, nor does he give any other indication that he had known Jesus during his earthly ministry. Many scholars (this writer not included) think that the author actually distinguishes himself from the Apostles in Revelation 21:14: "The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" - that is, the past founders of the people of God.

If the author of Revelation is someone other than John the Apostle, then this easily explains why he does not identify himself as the Apostle. If the author actually is John the Apostle, then we could attribute his silence to modesty. (The author of the Gospel and letters attributed to John displays similar modesty, being more interested in telling others about Jesus than in telling them about himself.) However, if what we have in Revelation is someone who wants to present himself as John the Apostle, then he fails miserably by never clearly identifying himself as that hero of the faith. The theory of pseudonymity seems quite implausible in the case of Revelation.

b. Evidence from the Early Christian Fathers

We are left, then, with two possibilities: Is the author of Revelation John the Apostle, or is he some other "John" entirely? Perhaps the Early Christian Fathers can help us with this question. As leaders of the Church in the postapostolic period, they were certainly closer to John in time and space than we are. What do they tell us regarding the origin of Revelation?

(1) Timeline. Before we put the Fathers on the "witness stand," we should acquaint ourselves with the time period in question. Revelation - like all New Testament books - was written during the first century A.D. Thirteen Roman emperors reigned during that century, as outlined below:

Augustus (30 B.C.-A.D 14) was emperor at the time of Jesus' birth (which took place in 4-6 B.C. - see Luke 2:1) and also during his boyhood.

Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) ruled throughout the period of Jesus' adulthood, his public ministry (see Luke 3:1), and his death and resurrection (which occurred in A.D. 33).

Caligula, Claudius (mentioned in Acts 11:28

Caligula (37-41) and 18:2), and Nero reigned during the period when the Apostle Paul carried out

Claudius (41-54) his mission to the Gentiles and Christianity spread across the Mediterranean world.

Nero (54-68) According to the Church Fathers, both Peter and Paul died under a persecution of Christians sparked by Nero.

Galba, Otho, and Vitellius (68-69) held power only briefly as the Empire suffered through a period of murder, intrigue, and civil war.

Vespasian (69-79) was the Roman general charged with putting down the Jewish revolt that began in A.D. 66. When his forces defeated Vitellius and made him emperor, Vespasian left the siege of Jerusalem to return to Rome.

Titus (79-81), the son of Vespasian, took over his father's command and destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. He later succeeded his father as emperor.

Domitian (81-96) According to the Church Fathers, Domitian (another son of Vespasian), Nerva, and Trajan

Nerva (96-98) played a role in the events surrounding the writing of Revelation (see below).

Trajan (98-117)

Against this background, what do the Church Fathers tell us about "John" and the writing of Revelation? Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Eusebius prove particularly helpful to our inquiry.

(2) The Testimony of Justin Martyr. Our earliest evidence that Revelation was written by John the Apostle comes from Justin Martyr, a teacher of the church at Rome in the mid-second century. In his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Justin recalls:

. . . a man among us [Christians] named John, one of Christ's Apostles, received a revelation and foretold that the followers of Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that afterwards the universal and, in short, everlasting resurrection and judgment would take place. (Justin refers to John's vision in Rev 20:4-22:5.)

As we will see, some of Justin's fellow believers agree that the Apostle wrote Revelation, while others have their doubts.

(3) The Testimony of Irenaeus. During the late second century, Irenaeus served as bishop of Lyons in what is now France. In Against Heresies (ca. 180), a refutation of Gnosticism, he defends the apostolic origin of the Christian gospel. In the process, he provides details concerning the later life of John the Apostle.

For we learned the plan of our salvation from no others than from those through whom the gospel came to us. They first preached it abroad, and then later by the will of God handed it down to us in Writings, to be the foundation and pillar of our faith. For it is not right to say that they preached before they had come to perfect knowledge, as some [Gnostics] dare to say, boasting that they are the correctors of the apostles. For after our Lord had risen from the dead, and they were enclothed with the power from on high when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were filled with all things and had perfect knowledge. They went out to the ends of the earth, preaching the good things that come to us from God, and proclaiming peace from heaven to men, all and each of them equally being in possession of the gospel of God. So Matthew among the Hebrews issued a Writing of the gospel in their own tongue, while Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel at Rome, and founding the Church. After their decease Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what Peter had preached. Then Luke, the follower of Paul, recorded in a book the gospel as it was preached by him. Finally John, the disciple of the Lord, who had also lain on his breast, published the Gospel, while he was residing at Ephesus in Asia. All of these handed down to us that there is one God, maker of heaven and earth, proclaimed by the Law and the Prophets, and one Christ the Son of God. If anyone does not agree with them he despises the companions of the Lord, he despises Christ the Lord himself, he even despises the Father, and he is self-condemned, resisting and refusing his own salvation, as all the heretics do.

Note that, according to Irenaeus, the Fourth Gospel was written by the Apostle John (whom he identifies with the "disciple whom Jesus loved," who reclined next to the Lord at the "Last Supper" - see John 13:23). The bishop also identifies John's home at the time of the writing as Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia.

Elsewhere in Against Heresies , Irenaeus writes:

The church in Ephesus also, which was founded by Paul, and where John survived until the time of Trajan, is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles.

Here the writer again locates John at Ephesus. Furthermore, he dates John's death to the reign of Trajan (A.D. 98-117). If John was as young as fifteen when called to be Jesus' disciple in about A.D. 30, then the Apostle would have been eighty-three years old when Trajan's reign began in A.D. 98. The Apostle John could have been in his nineties - or even one hundred years old - when he died (hence the rumors that he would not die mentioned in John 21).

(4) The Testimony of Eusebius, Origen, and Papias. Eusebius was bishop of Caesarea in Palestine and a confidant of Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome. After Constantine legalized Christianity, Eusebius wrote a History of the Church from its origins with Jesus and the Apostles to his own time in A.D. 325. In constructing this history, he used a number of sources, including the writings of Origen (Christian teacher in Caesarea active during the first half of the third century) and Papias (a bishop from Phyrgia who lived in the early second century). In several passages, Eusebius discusses the authorship of Revelation.

Meanwhile the holy apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over the whole world. Thomas, tradition tells us, was chosen for Parthia, Andrew for Scythia, John for Asia, where he remained till his death at Ephesus. Peter seems to have preached in Pontus, Galatia and Bithynia, Cappadocia and Asia, to the Jews of the Dispersion. Finally, he came to Rome where he was crucified, head downwards at his own request. What need be said of Paul, who from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum preached in all its fulness the gospel of Christ, and later was martyred in Rome under Nero? This is exactly what Origen tells us in Volume III of his Commentary on Genesis.

Note that Peter and Paul were martyred at Rome during the reign of Nero, who persecuted Christians there. Furthermore, Eusebius - like Irenaeus - places John's death at Ephesus.

Elsewhere Eusebius describes a later persecution carried out against Christians by another emperor after Nero:

Many were victims of Domitian's appalling cruelty. At Rome great numbers of men distinguished by birth and attainments were executed without a fair trial, and countless other eminent men were for no reason at all banished from the country and their property confiscated. Finally, he showed himself the successor of Nero in enmity and hostility to God. He was, in fact, the second to organize persecution against us, though his father Vespasian had had no mischievous designs against us.

There is ample evidence that at that time the apostle and evangelist John was still alive, and because of his testimony to the word of God was sentenced to confinement on the island of Patmos. Writing about the number of the name given to antichrist in what is called the Revelation of John, Irenaeus has this to say about John in Book V of his Heresies Answered :

Had there been any need for his name to be openly announced at the present time, it would have been stated by the one who saw the actual revelation. For it was seen not a long time back, but almost in my own lifetime, at the end of Domitian's reign. . . .

After fifteen years of Domitian's rule Nerva succeeded to the throne. By vote of the Roman senate Domitian's honours were removed, and those unjustly banished returned to their homes and had their property restored to them. This is noted by the chroniclers of the period. At that time too the apostle John, after his exile on the island, resumed residence at Ephesus, as early Christian tradition records.

According to Eusebius, Domitian carried out an organized persecution against Christians involving confiscation of property, banishment, and executions. He was the second Roman emperor to persecute Christians after Nero. During this time, John the Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos. There he wrote the Revelation "at the end of Domitian's reign" (i.e., A.D. 95-96). After Domitian's death and during the reign of Nerva (A.D. 96-98), John was released from Patmos and allowed to return to his home at Ephesus.

The author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" (Rev 1:1,4, 9). Eusebius quotes Irenaeus, who suggests that this was probably ("ample evidence") the same John who wrote the Fourth Gospel - that is, John the Apostle. Irenaeus also says that the "antichrist" mentioned in Revelation refers to Domitian, and that his identity would have been clear to anyone living at that time.

If Eusebius' information is correct, then we have the author, date, occasion, and an important key to understanding the book of Revelation here in his History of the Church . We will see, however, that Eusebius and other Christians of his time were not certain that this tradition was entirely accurate.

The bishop continues:

Now let me indicate the unquestioned writings of this apostle [John]. Obviously his gospel, recognized as it is by all the churches in the world, must first be acknowledged. . . .

Of John's writings, besides the gospel, the first of the epistles has been accepted as unquestionably his by scholars both of the present and of a much earlier period: the other two are disputed. As to the Revelation, the views of most people to this day are evenly divided.

Note that, by A.D. 325 (when Eusebius writes his History ), the fourth Gospel and 1 John are generally considered compositions of John the Apostle. However, the authorship of 2-3 John and Revelation are still disputed. Many Christians doubt the "ample evidence" given by Irenaeus and the other Church Fathers.

Eusebius therefore suggests an alternative theory:

Papias has left us five volumes entitled The Sayings of the Lord Explained . These are mentioned by Irenaeus as the only works from his pen:

To these things Papias, who had listened to John and was later a companion of Polycarp, and who lived at a very early date, bears written testimony in the fourth of his books; he composed five.

That is what Irenaeus says; but Papias himself in the preface of his work makes it clear that he was never a hearer or eyewitness of the holy apostles, and tells us that he learnt the essentials of the Faith from their former pupils:

I shall not hesitate to furnish you, along with the interpretations, with all that in days gone by I carefully learnt from the presbyters and have carefully recalled, for I can guarantee its truth. Unlike most people, I felt at home not with those who had a great deal to say, but with those who taught the truth; not with those who appeal to commandments from other sources but with those who appeal to the commandments given by the Lord to faith and coming to us from truth itself. And whenever anyone came who had been a follower of the presbyters, I inquired into the words of the presbyters, what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew, or any other disciple of the Lord, and what Aristion [the reputed author of the present ending of the Second Gospel - i.e., Mark 16:9-20] and the presbyter John, disciples of the Lord, were still saying. For I did not imagine that things out of books would help me as much as the utterances of a living and abiding voice.

Here it should be observed that he twice includes the name of John. The first John he puts in the same list as Peter, James, Matthew, and the rest of the apostles, obviously with the evangelist in mind; the second, with a changed form of expression, he places in a second group outside the number of the apostles, giving precedence to Aristion and clearly calling John a presbyter. He thus confirms the truth of the story that two men in Asia had the same name, and that there were two tombs in Ephesus, each of which is still called John's. This is highly significant, for it is likely that the second - if we cannot accept the first - saw the Revelation that bears the name of John. Papias, whom we are now discussing, owns that he learnt the words of the apostles from their former followers, but says that he listened to Aristion and the presbyter John with his own ears. Certainly he often mentions them by name, and reproduces their teachings in his writings.

Eusebius raises the possibility that there were two Christian leaders, living in Ephesus, who shared the name "John" - namely, John the Apostle and John the Presbyter. He suggests that perhaps John the Presbyter is the "John" who was exiled to Patmos and who wrote the Revelation.

c. Conclusions

We possess significant external evidence from the Early Christian Fathers that John the Apostle wrote Revelation. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Papias, and others, together suggest that, later in life, the Apostle moved from Palestine to Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia. There he wrote the fourth Gospel and three New Testament epistles (1-3 John). During the persecution carried out by Domitian, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received the Revelation. After Domitian's death, during the reign of Nerva, John returned to Ephesus. He died during the reign of Trajan after living an unusually long life. The external evidence meshes well with internal evidence suggesting that the author was a Palestinian Jew, exiled to Patmos, writing to Christians in Asia during a time of severe persecution. That John the Apostle wrote Revelation has been the traditional view of the church for centuries.

However, we have seen that - even in ancient times - there were many Christians who doubted this conclusion. As late as A.D. 325, when Eusebius wrote his History of the Church , opinions regarding the apostolic origin of Revelation were "evenly divided." As far back as A.D. 250, Dionysius of Alexandria questioned whether the same person who composed the simple yet profound language of the fourth Gospel and Johannine Epistles could have written the complicated prose of Revelation. (Of course, some of the differences must be attributed to the radically different genre of an apocalypse.) The controversy over whether or not Revelation should be included in the Christian canon was not finally settled until the Councils of Hippo (A.D. 393) and Carthage (A.D. 397).

Did early Church Fathers, such as Justin and Irenaeus, attribute the Revelation to John because they had solid, reliable information that the Apostle did indeed write the book? Or were they making an intelligent (but not necessarily correct) guess based on what evidence they had? For example, did they say that the Apostle John moved to Asia because they knew that he did? Or did they assume that the "John" who wrote Revelation was the Apostle, take note that this "John" was in Asia, and therefore assume that John the Apostle moved to Asia?

The fact that the authorship of Revelation was still heavily debated in Eusebius's time indicates that the early Church lacked solid proof one way or the other. For this reason, we must acknowledge the very real possibility that Revelation was written by someone other than John the Apostle - perhaps by John the Presbyter. We possess very good evidence that Revelation was written by John the Apostle, but not conclusive evidence.

2. Date

According to Irenaeus (see above), John wrote Revelation at the end of Domitian's reign - that is, about A.D. 95 or 96. This date is almost certainly accurate for the reasons given below.

We have already seen that Revelation was written at a time when Christians were beginning to be persecuted and killed by Roman authorities in Asia. The author expected the harassment and killings to escalate. We have also seen that, according to the Church Fathers, second century Christians possessed an historical recollection of two great persecutions during the first century. The earliest occurred during the reign of Nero in A.D. 64 or 65. At that time there was a great fire in Rome. Rumor had it that Nero wanted to build some new buildings, so he had the fire started in order to burn down a lower class part of town to make room for new construction. The fire burned out of control and destroyed a large portion of the city. Nero first tried to use the Jews as scapegoats. When that tactic failed, he blamed the Christians. Large numbers were executed with tortures that sickened even the Romans. Tacitus, a Roman historian writing about fifty years later, describes that terrible time:

But neither human help, nor imperial munificence, nor all the modes of placating Heaven, could stifle scandal or dispel the belief that the fire had taken place by order [of Nero]. Therefore, to scotch the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, the founder of the name, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, and the pernicious superstition was checked for a moment, only to break out once more, not merely in Judaea, the home of the disease, but in the capital itself, where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue. First, then, the confessed members of the sect were arrested; next, on their disclosures, vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the count of arson as for hatred of the human race. And derision accompanied their end: they were covered with wild beasts' skins and torn to death by dogs; or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed were burned to serve as lamps by night. Nero had offered his Gardens for the spectacle, and gave an exhibition in his Circus, mixing with the crowd in the habit of a charioteer, or mounted on his car[riage]. Hence, in spite of a guilt which had earned the most exemplary punishment, there arose a sentiment of pity, due to the impression that they were being sacrificed not for the welfare of the state but to the ferocity of a single man.

Christians remembered Nero as a bloodthirsty "beast" from this time forward.

The second systematic persecution of Christians occurred late in the reign of Domitian, in A.D. 95-96. Roman historians leave no clear record of Domitian himself ever ordering such a persecution. However, church leaders such as Irenaeus and Eusebius testify to at least a localized persecution, in the province of Asia, carried out in Domitian's name (see above). The question, then, is which persecution prompted the writing of Revelation?

Revelation was probably written during the persecution of Domitian, rather than during the persecution of Nero, for the following reasons: First, John (like the authors of 1 Peter, 4 Ezra, and 2 Baruch) uses "Babylon" as a symbol for Rome. He views Rome as a second "Babylon" because, just as Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587 B.C., so did Rome destroy Jerusalem and its temple in A.D. 70. At the time of Nero's reign (A.D. 54-68) the temple was still standing, so Rome had not yet become "Babylon." However, by Domitian's rule (A.D. 81-96), this potent symbol had become available to John.

Second, Revelation contains many allusions to Roman emperor worship (discussed below in Part 3). As we shall see, such worship was much more prevalent during the reign of Domitian than it was during the reign of Nero.

Third, Revelation frequently portrays Roman political authorities as Nero redivivus ("Nero revivified" or "Nero come back to life") because, like Nero before them, they persecute Christ's church. If he speaks of "Nero come back to life," then John must be writing after Nero's death rather than during the persecution he instigated. Nero redivivus imagery, then, is a symbolic way of referring to Domitian and his deadly agents. (For a fuller explanation of the Nero redivivus idea in Revelation, see the comments on 13:3.)

Finally, the Church Fathers say that John wrote Revelation late in the reign of Domitian (see above), which dates John's Apocalypse to A.D. 95-96.

3. Occasion: Persecution Related to

Emperor Worship in Asia Minor

Domitian's persecution of the church was partly due to the Christians' refusal to engage in emperor worship. What were the issues at stake in this practice, and how did believers respond to it?

a. Historical Background

Although worshiping kings as deities had a long history in the east, the practice did not enter the western world until the time of Alexander the Great (late fourth century B.C.). As the young ruler won victory after victory over Babylonia, Persia, and other eastern lands, the conquered peoples began to proclaim him a god. Alexander encouraged such worship because he thought it would help to unify the diverse peoples making up his empire.

Following his assassination on March 15, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was declared a god by the Roman Senate. Afterwards it became customary to honor dead emperors in this way. On his deathbed Vespasian announced sarcastically, "I am already becoming a god!"

Tiberius and Claudius discouraged worship of living emperors. However, Nero, Vespasian, and Titus tolerated the practice for its political benefits. Caligula, who suffered from mental illness, was the first emperor who actually believed himself divine.

Domitian insisted on being worshiped as a god during his lifetime, which scandalized his biographer Suetonius:

When [Domitian] became emperor, he did not hesitate to boast in the senate that he had conferred their power on both his father (Vespasian) and his brother (Titus), and that they had but returned him his own; nor on taking back his wife after their divorce, that he had "recalled her to his divine couch." He delighted to hear the people in the amphitheatre shout on his feast day: "Good Fortune attend our Lord [ Dominus ] and Mistress.". . . With no less arrogance he began as follows in issuing a circular letter in the name of his procurators, "Our Master [ Dominus ] and our God [ Deus ] bids that this be done." And so the custom arose of henceforth addressing him in no other way even in writing or in conversation. He suffered no statues to be set up in his honour in the Capitol, except of gold and silver and of a fixed weight. He erected so many and such huge vaulted passage-ways and arches in the various regions of the city, adorned with chariots and triumphal emblems, that on one of them someone wrote in Greek: "It is enough."

During Domitian's reign, at least three of the seven cities to which John addressed the Revelation had temples dedicated to the worship of Caesar - namely, Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum. Since 29 B.C., Pergamum (called "the place where Satan has his throne" in Rev 2:13) had been the official center of emperor worship in Asia.

b. Emperor Worship in Daily Life

By the late first century, emperor worship touched many aspects of Roman life, embracing the political, the economic, and the social. Civic events and legal transactions included pledges of allegiance to Caesar as "Lord" and "God" (i.e., dominus and deus in Latin, or kuvrio" ( kyrios ) and qeov" ( theos ) in Greek - the biblical titles Christians used for God the Creator and his Son Jesus Christ). As they entered the theater, sporting competitions, gladiatorial games, or public festivals, citizens tossed a pinch of incense on a small altar as a sacrifice to the "divine Caesar." When animals were slaughtered to provide meat for the marketplace, a small portion was set aside as a sacrifice for the gods. Collegia (private men's clubs) and trade guilds (similar clubs made up of people who practiced the same vocation) held banquets honoring the emperor and their patron gods as silent guests.

Such practices were not necessarily taken seriously as major religious events. Rather, they were expressions of patriotism, national unity, and gratitude for the benevolent rule of the Roman emperor. They were the equivalent of saluting the flag or removing one's hat at the playing of the national anthem. However, refusal to participate called into question one's loyalty to the emperor, and this could lead to the most severe of consequences.

c. Exemptions for Jews and Christians

The only groups really troubled by such practices were Jews and Christians, who were monotheists believing in one God alone. To them, honoring Caesar (a mere man) as "Lord and God" was idolatry. To avoid this sin, Jews of the first century B.C. worked out an agreement that convinced the Romans of their loyalty to the empire: They agreed to pray for the emperor, but not to him. In the temple at Jerusalem they offered sacrifices for the benefit of Caesar, but not to Caesar. This arrangement satisfied the Romans that the Jews were not dangerous rebels, and it was preferable to fighting a war against irrational religious zealots. So Jews were exempted from worship of the Roman gods - including the emperor - and permitted to practice their own religion. Titus instituted a two-drachma tax on each Jew for continuing this special privilege.

At first, the Romans viewed Christians as simply another variety of Jew - messianic Jews. Christians therefore enjoyed the same exemption from emperor worship given to other Jews. Over time, several events altered their status: First, through the successful missionary activity of Paul and others, Christianity became a predominantly Gentile faith. Second, when Jews rebelled against Rome in A.D. 66-73, Christians began to distinguish themselves from that group in order to keep themselves out of trouble. Finally, after the war, Judaism closed ranks and expelled "heretics" such as Christians from the synagogues. Jews quit saying that the Christians were part of their community, which removed the churches' exemption from emperor worship.

d. Christian Responses to the Emperor Cult

How did Christians respond to this situation? Some favored acknowledging the emperor as "Lord," offering sacrifice to his image, and eating with the collegia as harmless expressions of patriotism. After all, they could hail Caesar as "god," giving him that title of honor, without really believing that he was a deity in the literal sense. Did not Jesus himself command us to "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Matt 22:21)? Did not our beloved Apostle Paul teach us to "Submit to the governing authorities" (Rom 13:1)? Should we give up our social life, invite financial ruin, and even risk death over a pinch of incense that means nothing?!

Others argued that confessing Caesar as "Lord and god," and offering sacrifice to the "divine Caesar," was rank idolatry. And did not Christ also say, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only" (Matt 4:10)? Did not Paul also say that "for us there is but one God ( theos ) . . . and there is but one Lord ( kyrios )"? John belonged to this latter camp that wanted nothing to do with worshiping the emperor or the other Roman gods. He has harsh words for compromisers in Revelation 2-3.

To avoid committing idolatry, Christians tended to withdraw from much of the social life of the city. Over time, they gained a reputation for being a rather strange and suspicious group, antisocial and lacking community spirit. Eventually the gossip mill started up, and vicious rumors spread:

These Christians are so unpatriotic! They refuse to honor the emperor! And what do they do in those secret meetings of theirs? You don't suppose they are plotting some sort of rebellion, do you? Hmmm . . . wasn't their own leader, Christos, crucified for claiming to be a king?

I heard that those "love feasts" of theirs are incestuous orgies. They say Christos taught them to love their "brothers" and "sisters"!

It's even worse! I heard them talking about eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the "Son." They are sacrificing babies and practicing cannibalism!

These "Christ people" are impious atheists! They say idols are not real and refuse to worship any of our gods.

As their neighbors turned against them, Christians became subject to social and economic discrimination, pressures and harassment, unofficial mob violence, and the plundering of their property. Later books of the New Testament mention these kinds of persecution (see, e.g., Heb 10:34; 13:3; 1 Pet 4:14-16; 5:9).

Tensions focused on Christians' refusal to worship the emperor, for this was not simply a religious infraction but apparent political subversion. Domitian, who had once said, "Not good is a number of rulers," prosecuted this crime without mercy. A possible reference to Christians being punished for such transgressions appears in Dio Cassius' Roman History :

. . . the same year (i.e., A.D. 95) Domitian slew, along with many others, Flavius Clemens the consul, although he was a cousin and had to wife Flavia Domitilla, who was also a relative of the emperor's. The charge brought against them both was that of atheism (i.e., refusal to worship the Roman gods - including the emperor?), a charge on which many others who drifted into Jewish ways (i.e., many Christians?) were condemned . Some of these were put to death, and the rest were at least deprived of their property. Domitilla was merely banished to [the island of] Pandateria.

Note that Dio describes events of the year 95, the very time period in which John wrote Revelation. Note also the kinds of penalties Domitian prescribed for "atheism" - namely, confiscation of property, banishment to an island (as John was exiled to Patmos), and death (as Antipas was killed in Pergamum).

There were political, social, and economic benefits to be gained by turning Christians over to the Roman authorities. For example, if there were two silversmiths in a city, and one was a Christian, then the other could eliminate his competitor by accusing the "disloyal" Christian. Jews could purge their synagogues of "heretics" by reporting that Christians were not true Jews and therefore not entitled to exemption from emperor worship. One's social or political rivals could be removed by posting an anonymous notice exposing them as Christians. The emperor cult handed a deadly weapon to anyone with a grudge or petty jealousy against any Christian.

e. The Correspondence of Pliny and Trajan

Unfortunately, we have no historical documents from Domitian's reign detailing governmental policy toward Christians in Asia. However, we do possess a series of official letters exchanged by Pliny Secundus, the Roman governor of Bithynia, and the Emperor Trajan. Bithynia was just north of Asia, and the letters were written only fifteen or sixteen years after Revelation, in A.D. 111-112. So this correspondence may offer a glimpse into the kinds of pressures faced by Christians during John's time.

Pliny to the Emperor Trajan

It is my custom to refer all my difficulties to you, Sir, for no one is better able to resolve my doubts and to inform my ignorance.

I have never been present at an examination of Christians. Consequently, I do not know the nature or the extent of the punishments usually meted out to them, nor the grounds for starting an investigation and how far it should be pressed. Nor am I at all sure whether any distinction should be made between them on the grounds of age, or if young people and adults should be treated alike; whether a pardon ought to be granted to anyone retracting his beliefs, or if he has once professed Christianity, he shall gain nothing by renouncing it; and whether it is the mere name of Christian which is punishable, even if innocent of crime, or rather the crimes associated with the name.

For the moment this is the line I have taken with all persons brought before me on the charge of being Christians. I have asked them in person if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution; for, whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubbornness and unshakeable obstinacy ought not to go unpunished. There have been others similarly fanatical who are Roman citizens. I have entered them on the list of persons to be sent to Rome for trial.

Now that I have begun to deal with this problem, as so often happens, the charges are becoming more widespread and increasing in variety. An anonymous pamphlet has been circulated which contains the names of a number of accused persons. Among these I considered that I should dismiss any who denied that they were or ever had been Christians when they had repeated after me a formula of invocation to the gods and had made offerings of wine and incense to your statue (which I had ordered to be brought into court for this purpose along with the images of the gods), and furthermore had reviled the name of Christ: none of which things, I understand, any genuine Christian can be induced to do.

Others, whose names were given to me by an informer, first admitted the charge and then denied it; they said that they had ceased to be Christians two or more years previously, and some of them even twenty years ago. They all did reverence to your statue and the images of the gods in the same way as the others, and reviled the name of Christ. They also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately among themselves in honour of Christ as if to a god, and also to bind themselves by oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery and adultery, to commit no breach of trust and not to deny a deposit when called upon to restore it. After this ceremony it had been their custom to disperse and reassemble later to take food of an ordinary, harmless kind; but they had in fact given up this practice since my edict, issued on your instructions, which banned all political societies. This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth by torture from two slave-women, whom they call deaconesses. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths. I have therefore postponed any further examination and hastened to consult you. The question seems to me to be worthy of your consideration, especially in view of the number of persons endangered; for a great many individuals of every age and class, both men and women, are being brought to trial, and this is likely to continue. It is not only the towns, but villages and rural districts too which are infected through contact with this wretched cult. I think though that it is still possible for it to be checked and directed to better ends, for there is no doubt that people have begun to throng the temples which had been almost entirely deserted for a long time; the sacred rites which had been allowed to lapse are being performed again, and flesh of sacrificial victims is on sale everywhere, though up till recently scarcely anyone could be found to buy it. It is easy to infer from this that a great many people could be reformed if they were given an opportunity to repent.

Trajan's Reply to Pliny

You have followed the right course of procedure, my dear Pliny, in your examination of the cases of persons charged with being Christians, for it is impossible to lay down a general rule to a fixed formula. These people must not be hunted out; if they are brought before you and the charge against them is proved, they must be punished, but in the case of anyone who denies that he is a Christian, and makes it clear that he is not by offering prayers to our gods, he is to be pardoned as a result of his repentance however suspect his past conduct may be. But pamphlets circulated anonymously must play no part in any accusation. They create the worst sort of precedent and are quite out of keeping with the spirit of our age.

The Pliny/Trajan correspondence illustrates that, if Christians were hauled before a Roman magistrate, they were required to prove their patriotism in three basic ways: They must sacrifice wine and incense to images of Caesar and the other Roman gods. They must declare Kyrios Kaisaros ("Caesar is Lord," an exact counterpart to the basic Christian confession "Jesus is Lord"). They must "repent" of their faith and curse Christ. If they refused, they would be executed.

f. The Christians' Choice

In such a terrible circumstance, what choices did Christians have? Dr. Boring summarizes them nicely: They could surrender their faith in Christ, but for John this would be to surrender "the crown of life" (see Rev 2:10). They could lie about their loyalty to Christ, but John reserves a place in the "fiery lake of burning sulfur" for liars (see Rev 21:8). They could try to change the laws, but this was not possible since Rome was not a democracy and Domitian would never accept a rival "Lord." They could fight the Roman government, but this was not practical. They could "adjust" by confessing Caesar as "god" without meaning it, but John rejects even feigned idolatry as unworthy of Christ. Finally, they could die, as Jesus himself had died. John affirms death for Christ's sake as the only truly "Christian" response. There is no other way.

He who has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. Here is the patient endurance and the faithfulness of the saints. (Rev 13:10)

This is the challenge faced by the churches of Asia when John writes Revelation. It is a terribly hard book for terribly hard times.

V. THE STRUCTURE OF REVELATION

In Part III of the Introduction we identify Revelation as a Christian apocalypse - probably the first Christian apocalypse. Such writings often incorporate elements of other genres. For example, Daniel 1-6 consists largely of a narrative prologue to the apocalypse proper found in chapters 7-12. In the case of Revelation, John's apocalyptic vision is presented within the framework of a first-century letter.

A. THE FIRST CENTURY HELLENISTIC

LETTER FORM IN REVELATION

Letters written today generally bear certain standard features that conform to cultural norms (e.g., the name and address of the sender and receiver, a greeting formula such as "Dear Sir," and a closing formula such as "Sincerely yours"). New Testament epistles likewise conform to the standard Hellenistic letter form used in the Roman world of the first century A.D. The elements of this common letter form are listed below, along with examples of each element from Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians and his Letter to Philemon:

The name of the sender(s) (see 1 Cor 1:1; Phlm 1a)

The name of the recipient(s) (see 1 Cor 1:2; Phlm 1b-2)

The prescript , which is a greeting formula (see 1 Cor 1:3; Phlm 3)

The proem , which is a word of thanks, praise, or petition to a god (see 1 Cor 1:4-9; Phlm 4-7).

The introductory formula , which serves as the transition into the primary subject matter of the letter (see 1 Cor 1:10; Phlm 8-9).

The main body of the letter (see 1 Cor 1:11-16:18; Phlm 10-22)

Greetings (see 1 Cor 16:19-20; Phlm 23-24)

Benedictory wishes in the sender's own hand (rather than that of a secretary, if used), which serve to personalize the letter (see 1 Cor 16:21-24; Phlm 25)

Revelation bears most of the features of a first century Hellenistic letter, as shown below. This observation is important because it explains why certain elements appear in Revelation and why they are arranged as they are. John is simply following the conventions of his culture.

Name of Sender (Rev 1:4a):

John

Name of Recipient(s) (Rev 1:4b):

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Prescript (Rev 1:4c-5a):

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Proem (Rev1:5b-6): In this part of the letter, a pagan would often call upon the gods to grant good health and prosperity to the addressee(s). John Christianizes this portion of the standard letter form and transforms it into a doxology of praise to God:

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Introductory Formula (Rev 1:9):

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Main Body of the Letter (Rev 1:10-22:20)

Greetings are not found in Revelation.

Benedictory Wishes in the Sender's Own Hand (Rev 22:21):

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.

B. THE STRUCTURE OF JOHN'S VISION

Within the Hellenistic letter form, John structures Revelation in four main parts, as a careful examination clearly shows. The book begins with a Prologue (1:1-20) in which the author describes how Christ commissioned him to deliver a revelation to the seven churches of Asia. Near the end of this Prologue, in 1:19, the Lord summarizes the contents of the revelation itself:

Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

Notice that the vision contains two main elements: First, there is a revelation of the present - a revelation of "what is now." The "present," of course, refers to "what is now" from John's perspective. Christ offers John a vision of the late first century A.D. in Asia. Second, the Lord promises a revelation of the future - a vision of "what will take place later." Again, this is the "future" from John's point of view - the period from A.D. 95-96 through Christ's return and the consummation of the kingdom of God.

Which part of the book reveals John's "present" and which part reveals the "future"? John treats these two subjects in the order in which they are mentioned. His discussion of the "present" appears in 2:1-3:22 and takes the form of seven letters to the churches of Asia. This part of the vision describes the "present" circumstances of the Asian churches from Christ's point of view.

The Lord's revelation of the "future" appears in 4:1-22:6, as the structure of the passage makes clear. The first verse of this section (4:1) reads:

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

The initial phrase "After this," in and of itself, marks a transition - the end of one discussion and the beginning of another. Christ then introduces the next major portion of the book when he says, "I will show you what must take place after this" - that is, "after" the "present" described in chapters 2 and 3. Revelation 4:1 marks the beginning of the promised vision of "what will take place later."

Where does the vision of the future end? After a long series of images we come to Revelation 22:6:

The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place ."

This verse marks the end of John's discussion of the future. The remainder of the book (22:7-21) consists of a short Epilogue.

By far the largest portion of Revelation describes John's vision of the future (4:1-22:6). How has the author structured this important part of the book? The revelation of "what will take place later" begins with an introduction (4:1-5:14) in which John describes his new vantage point in heaven ("Come up here , and I will show you"). The prophet will see the future from God's point of view.

The rest of the section (6:1-22:6) contains the revelation of the future itself. However, a careful reading shows that John does not receive one long, sequential vision of the future. Instead, he receives three separate revelations of the complete future from John's time through the consummation of the kingdom of God . John describes how the future unfolds in 6:1-8:1. Then he starts over and describes the same period again in 8:2-11:19. Then he reviews the same period a third time in 12:1-22:6. The approach is cyclical, with each vision examining the future from a slightly different angle, and the third vision offering the most detail.

In view of these considerations, we outline Revelation as follows. The Commentary is structured accordingly.

I. Prologue (1:1-20)

II. The Revelation of "What Is Now" (2:1-3:22)

III. The Revelation of "What Will Take Place Later" (4:1-22:6)

A. Introduction: John's Heavenly Vantage Point (4:1-5:14)

B. The First Vision of the Future (6:1-8:1)

C. The Second Vision of the Future (8:2-11:19)

D. The Third Vision of the Future (12:1-22:6)

IV. Epilogue (22:7-21)

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

Barr, J. "Jewish Apocalyptic in Recent Scholarly Study." Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 58 (1975): 9-35.

Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 1 - Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments . Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983.

Collins, John J., ed. "Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre." Semeia 14. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1979.

. The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish Matrix of Christianity . 2 ^nd ed. The Biblical Resource Series. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

. "Apocalyptic Literature." In Early Judaism and Its Modern Interpreters. Eds. Robert A. Kraft and George W.E. Nickelsburg, 345-370. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986.

Collins, John J., and James H. Charlesworth, eds. Mysteries and Revelations: Apocalyptic Studies Since the Uppsala Colloquium. Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series, 9. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991.

Funk, Robert W., ed. Journal for Theology and the Church 6 (1969) [issue on "Apocalypticism"].

Hanson, Paul D. The Dawn of Apocalyptic . Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975.

. Old Testament Apocalyptic . Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987.

Hellholm, David, ed. Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalypticism, Uppsala, August 12-17, 1979. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1983.

Koch, Klaus. The Rediscovery of Apocalyptic: A Polemical Work on a Neglected Area of Biblical Studies and Its Damaging Effects on Theology and Philosophy . Studies in Biblical Theology, Second Series, 22. London: SCM Press Ltd, 1972.

Marcus, Joel, and Marion L. Soards, eds. Apocalyptic and the New Testament: Essays in Honor of J. Louis Martyn . Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series, 24. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1989.

Minear, Paul S. New Testament Apocalyptic . Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981.

Morris, Leon. Apocalyptic . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972.

Murphy, Frederick J. "Apocalypses and Apocalypticism: The State of the Question." Currents in Research: Biblical Studies 2 (1994): 147-179.

Rowley, H.H. The Relevance of Apocalyptic: A Study of Jewish and Christian Apocalypses from Daniel to the Revelation . New York: Association Press, 1964.

Russell, D.S. Divine Disclosure: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

. The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic: 200 B.C.-A.D. 100. The Old Testament Library. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1964.

Yarbro-Collins, Adela, ed. Early Christian Apocalypticism: Genre and Social Setting . Semeia 36. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986.

THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN

Aune, David. Revelation . 3 Vols. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, 1997-98.

Barclay, William. Letters to the Seven Churches . New York: Abingdon Press, 1957.

. The Revelation of John . 2 Vols. The Daily Bible Study Series. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976.

Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation . New Testament Theology. Cambridge: University Press, 1993.

Boring, M. Eugene. Revelation . Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1989.

Caird, G.B. The Revelation of St. John the Divine . Harper's New Testament Commentaries. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row, 1966.

Hemer, Colin J. The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting . Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series, 11. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1986.

Murphy, Frederick J. "The Book of Revelation." Currents in Research: Biblical Studies 2 (1994): 181-225.

Pilch, John J. What Are They Saying about the Book of Revelation? New York: Paulist Press, 1978.

Ramsay, W.M. The Letters to the Seven Churches . Updated ed. Edited by Mark W. Wilson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: Revelation (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. PROLOGUE - 1:1-20

A. Introduction to the Prophecy - 1:1-3

B. Sender - 1:4a

C. Recipients - 1:4b

D. Prescript - 1:4c-5a

E. Proem - 1:5b-6

F. Prophetic Pronouncement - 1:7

G. The Lord's Self-Introduction - 1:8

H. John's Vision of the Lord - 1:9-20

1. John's Circumstances - 1:9-11

2. John's Vision - 1:12-20

a. Christ's Voice and His Appearance - 1:12-16

b. Christ's Words - 1:17-20

c. Summary: John's Portrait of Christ in Revelation - 1:9-20

II. THE REVELATION OF "WHAT IS NOW" - 2:1-3:22

A. The Seven Churches

B. The Structure of the Letters to the Seven Churches

1. Addressed to the Angels of the Seven Churches

2. A Renewal of the New Covenant

a. Typical Elements of Covenants

b. Covenantal Elements in the Letters to the Seven Churches

c. The Letter to Ephesus - 2:1-7

d. The Letter to Smyrna - 2:8-11

e. The Letter to Pergamum - 2:12-17

f. The Letter to Thyatira - 2:18-29

g. The Letter to Sardis - 3:1-6

h. The Letter to Philadelphia - 3:7-13

i. The Letter to Laodicea - 3:14-22

C. Pressures and Opposition in Asia

1. Pressures and Opposition from Within the Christian Community

a. False Apostles and the Nicolaitans - 2:2,6

b. The Teaching of Balaam - 2:14

c. The Sins of Jezebel - 2:20-25

d. Assessment

2. Pressures and Opposition from Outside the Christian Community

D. "Overcomers" in Revelation

1. Satan as "Overcomer"

2. Christ as "Overcomer"

a. Whom Jesus "Overcomes"

b. How Jesus "Overcomes"

c. The Results of Jesus' "Overcoming"

3. Christians as "Overcomers"

a. Whom Christians "Overcome"

b. How Christians "Overcome"

c. The Result of Christians' "Overcoming"

E. Christ's Promises to "Him Who Overcomes"

1. The Tree of Life - 2:7

2. Escape from the Second Death - 2:11

3. The Hidden Manna, White Stone, and Secret Name - 2:17

a. The Hidden Manna, the Messianic Banquet, Behemoth and Leviathan

b. The White Stone

c. The Secret Name

4. Authority over the Nations and the Morning Star - 2:26-28

5. White Garments and the Book of Life - 3:4-5

6. A Pillar in God's Temple - 3:12

7. A Place on Christ's Throne - 3:21

III. THE REVELATION OF "WHAT WILL TAKE PLACE LATER - 4:1-22:6

A. Introduction: John's Heavenly Vantage Point - 4:1-5:14

1. Transition to the Threefold Vision of the Future - 4:1

2. The Throne of God and the Twenty-Four Elders - 4:2-6a

3. The Four Living Creatures - 4:6b-8

4. The Heavenly Worship - 4:9-11

5. The Scroll with Seven Seals - 5:1

6. The Lion of Judah and the Root of David - 5:2-5

7. The Lamb Who Was Slain - 5:6-14

B. The First Vision of the Future - 6:1-8:1

1. The "Labor Pains:" Seals One through Five - 6:1-11

a. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - 6:1-8

b. The Souls of the Martyrs - 6:9-11

2. The Final Judgment: Seal Six - 6:12-17

3. Summary of Revelation 6 (Seals 1-6) and Comparison with Matthew 24

4. Interlude: The 144,000 Sealed for Salvation - 7:1-17

a. The Sealing of the 144,000 - 7:1-8

b. A Song of Salvation - 7:9-17

5. The Consummation of God's Kingdom: Seal Seven - 8:1

6. Summary: John's First Vision of the Future - 6:1-8:1

C. The Second Vision of the Future - 8:2-11:19

1. The Structure of the Second Vision

a. Seven Trumpets versus Seven Seals

b. Major Elements of the Vision

c. The Dominant Image: God's Coming Kingdom as a "Second Exodus" for His People

d. Subordinate Imagery in Revelation 8:2-9:21

2. The "Present Evil Age/Labor Pains": Trumpets One through Six - 8:2-9:21

a. Hail, Blood, Bitter Waters, Darkness, Locusts, and Death: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as Eschatological "Plagues"

1) Present Evils as "Plagues"

2) The First Trumpet - 8:6-7

3) The Second Trumpet - 8:8-9

4) The Third Trumpet - 8:10-11

5) The Fourth Trumpet - 8:12

6) The Fifth Trumpet - 8:13-9:12

7) The Sixth Trumpet - 9:13-21

8) Heightened Imagery Portraying Eschatological Events

9) Partial Destruction versus Total Destruction

b. Earth, Trees, Grass, Springs, Rivers, Sea, and Sea Creatures: The Effect of the "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" on the Natural World

c. The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as God's Judgment on Sin and Call to Repentance

d. The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as a Source of Hope and a Call to Perseverance

e. The Blazing Mountain, Falling Stars, Wormwood, Demon Locusts from the Abyss, Abaddon, Apollyon, and a Demon Army: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as God's Unleashing Demonic Forces on the Earth

f. Fire from the Altar: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as an Answer to Prayer

g. The Sounding of Seven Trumpets: The "Present Evil Age" and "Labor Pains" as the Announcement of the Day of the Lord

h. The Eagle and the Three "Woes"

3. Interlude: The Mighty Angel and the Two Witnesses - 10:1-11:14

a. The Mighty Angel with the Little Scroll - 10:1-11

1) The Angel's Appearance

2) The Angel's Voice

3) The Little Scroll

4) Comparison with Daniel 12

b. The Measuring of the Temple and the Two Witnesses - 11:1-14

1) A Note on the "Rapture"

2) A Note on the "Protection" of the "New Israel" from the "Plagues"

4. The Final Judgment and Consummation of God's Kingdom: Trumpet Seven - 11:15-19

5. Summary: John's Second Vision of the Future - 8:2-11:19

D. The Third Vision of the Future - 12:1-22:6

1. The Structure of the Third Vision

2. The "Labor Pains": The Dragon's War against the Saints - 12:1-13:18

a. The Dragon, the Woman, and the Male Child - 12:1-17

1) The Identity of the Male Child

2) The Identity of the Red Dragon

3) Five Theories Regarding the Identity of the Woman

4) A Sixth Theory: John's Adaptation of the Apollo Myth

5) Interpretation of Revelation 12

b. The Beast from the Sea - 13:1-10

c. The Beast from the Land - 13:11-18

d. Satan's Parody of Christ

e. Summary of Revelation 12-13: The "Labor Pains"

3. The Final Judgment and Consummation of God's Kingdom - 14:1-22:6

a. The Relationship between Salvation and Condemnation, Final Judgment and Consummation

b. The Structure of Revelation 14:1-22:6

c. Announcement of the Final Judgment - 14:1-13

1) The 144,000 - 14:1-5

2) Threefold Announcement of the Judgment - 14:6-13

d. The Harvest of the Earth - 14:14-20

e. The Seven Last Plagues or Seven Bowls of God's Wrath - 15:1-16:21

1) The Structure of Revelation 15-16

2) The Sea of Glass and Fire - 15:1-4

3) The Heavenly Tabernacle - 15:5-8

4) The Meaning of the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath - 16:1

5) The First Bowl of Wrath - 16:2

6) The Second Bowl of Wrath - 16:3

7) The Third Bowl of Wrath - 16:4-7

8) The Fourth Bowl of Wrath - 16:8-9

9) The Fifth Bowl of Wrath - 16:10-11

10) The Sixth Bowl of Wrath - 16:12-14,16

11) Interlude - 16:15

12) The Seventh Bowl of Wrath - 16:17-21

f. God's Final Judgment against Babylon - 17:1-19:4

1) The Great Prostitute - 17:1-18

2) The Scarlet Beast - 17:1-18

3) The Fall of Babylon - 18:1-19:4

g. Announcement of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb - 19:5-10

1) The Wedding of the Lamb - 19:5-9

2) The Testimony of Jesus - 19:10

h. The Victorious Christ - 19:11-21

1) The King of Kings - 19:11-16

2) The Great Supper of God - 19:17-21

i. Deliverance from Babylonian Captivity - 20:1-22:6

1) Element One: The Binding of Satan - 20:1-3

2) Element Two: The Resurrection of Christian Martyrs - 20:4a

3) Element Three: The Millennial Reign of Christ - 20:4b-6

4) Element Four: God's Judgment of Gog and Magog - 20:7-15

5) Element Five: The New Jerusalem - 21:1-22:5

6) Comparison of Revelation 20:1-22:5 with Ezekiel 37-48

7) Conclusions Regarding the Meaning of Revelation 20:1-22:5

8) Climax: The Consummated Kingdom of God - 21:1-22:5

9) Conclusion of the Third Vision of the Future - 22:6

IV. EPILOGUE - 22:7-21

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV