CHAPTER 6

(A.D. 96)

THE FIRST SEAL

¹And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the Seals (refers to the Crucified, risen Christ, and is proven by the use of the word Lamb), and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four Beasts (living creatures) saying, Come and see. (This will follow the Rapture of the Church, but we arent told exactly how long after the Rapture the Great Tribulation will come. Come and see, says that it is destined and cannot be avoided.)

²And I saw, and behold a white horse (symbolic; proclaims the Antichrist presenting himself to the world as a prince of peace): and he who sat on him had a bow (mentions no arrows; he preaches peace, but is preparing for war, as symbolized by the bow); and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. (The crown represents the fact that he will conquer many countries. At first he does so by peace, but will quickly graduate to war.)

THE SECOND SEAL

³And when He (Christ) had opened the second Seal, I heard the second Beast (Living Creature) say, Come and see. (As we see here, all the events on Earth are decided first of all in Heaven.)

⁴And there went out another horse that was red (portrays another symbol, this time war): and power was given to him (the Antichrist) who sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. (This proclaims the fact that more people will be killed during the time of the Great Tribulation than at any other similar time frame in history.)

THE THIRD SEAL

⁵And when He had opened the third Seal, I heard the third Beast (Living Creature) say, Come and see (is as the previous two, opened by Christ; the time frame for this will most probably be in the second year of the Great Tribulation). And I beheld, and lo a black horse (represents famine, which always follows war); and he who sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand (refers to the scarcity of food, and is meant to portray that fact).

⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four Beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny (the world has rejected the Cross, and the world now faces Judgment); and see you hurt not the oil and the wine. (The petition that the olive tree and grape vine are not to be hurt is that these particular plants need no cultivation. Hence, their ruthless destruction is forbidden.)

THE FOURTH SEAL

⁷And when He had opened the fourth Seal, I heard the voice of the fourth Beast say, Come and see (presents a horror of unprecedented proportions).

⁸And I looked, and behold a pale horse (symbolic of death): and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him (signifying that almost all who died went to Hell). 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 probably refers to the Middle East and its vicinity.)

THE FIFTH SEAL

⁹And when He (Christ) had opened the fifth Seal (there is no announcement concerning the opening of this Seal, as it had been with the others), I saw under the Altar (the Altar of Incense) the souls of them who were slain (does not refer to an intermediate state, for the Resurrection has already taken place, and all now in Heaven have Glorified Bodies; the word soul is merely used in the sense of identification and not as a state) for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held (corresponds with Rev. 2:11):

¹⁰And they (the souls under the Altar) cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, Holy and True (pertains to far more than a cry for vengeance; more than anything else, it is a cry for the entire episode of sin and shame to end; it is a culmination of the cry of the ages), do you not judge and avenge our blood on them who dwell on the earth? (It is certain that the Lord will Judge and Avenge [Mat. 12:36].)

¹¹And white robes were given unto every one of them (symbolizes the Righteousness of the Saints [Rev. 19:8]); and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their Brethren, who should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (They will have to wait until the conclusion of the Great Tribulation, probably about another five years.)

THE SIXTH SEAL

¹²And I beheld when He (Christ) had open ed the sixth Seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake (the first of several); and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair (probably caused by dust filling the air due to the earthquake), and the moon became as blood (doesnt mean the moon was actually turned to blood, but that it became as blood, again probably referring to the dust particles filling the air);

¹³And the stars of Heaven fell unto the earth (refers to meteorites or shooting stars), even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. (There will be a bombardment on the Earth of these meteorites, which will cause untold damage.)

¹⁴And the Heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together (pertains to the shaking of the Heavens, which instigates the meteorites); and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (This proclaims power of unimagined proportions. The greater thrust will more than likely be in the Middle East.)

¹⁵And 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 (presents this as a wasted effort, for men cannot hide from God; as well, it takes in everyone from poverty to plenty);

¹⁶And said to the mountains and rocks (foolish man now prays to the rocks), Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the Throne (pertains to God the Father; let all understand, mankind, and that means everyone, is going to have to deal with the One Who sits on the Throne), and from the wrath of the Lamb (the Lamb is the Saviour today; tomorrow the Lamb is the Judge):

¹⁷For the great day of His wrath is come (the Great Day is the coming Great Tribulation, which will last for seven years); and who shall be able to stand? (This refers to the fact that man has set himself against God ever since the Fall. Now man will see exactly how powerful God actually is.)