Last 5 Days
Six of the Seven Seals
1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. 5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” 7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
There are six of the seven seals in this chapter. Then John had several visions in the next chapter before the Lamb of God opened the very important seventh seal in Chapter 8. The contents of these six seals are clear and varied. What is the meaning of each of the six seals and how do we link these six seals? Is there a connection among them? Let’s see.
The first seal unveiled the rider on a white horse having a bow and crown. The clear purpose was to conquer and indeed he was victorious. The second seal revealed the rider on a red horse, with a great sword to take peace away from the earth. The result is that warring enemies slay one another. While white symbolizes conquest, red symbolizes bloodshed.
When the third seal was opened, the rider had a pair of weighing scales, and there was a voice crying out that a quart of wheat and three quarts of barley cost a denarius each – the black horse symbolizes famine and a bleak situation. Food became scarce and there was inflation. This reminds me of the Covid pandemic that has ravaged the earth these past two-plus years, and it is still ongoing in many countries. The food shortage is compounded by the Russian-Ukraine war that has dragged down the worldwide economic outlook and affected the price of many commodities.
Just recently, Malaysia was forced to issue an embargo of chicken sales to Singapore due to shortage of supply to its own domestic market. It sends the price of chicken soaring in our supermarkets and is causing many fresh poultry sellers to close their stores for weeks or perhaps months. If we were to read this passage a few years ago, we might not be able to imagine how this could happen to us, and so soon!
At the opening of the fourth seal, John saw a pale horse which symbolizes the appearance of dead people. The rider’s name was Death and together with Hades, they were given authority to take the lives of one quarter of the earth’s people through several ways: by killing with sword, famine, pestilence and the wild beasts of the earth.
The third and fourth seals show us that this multi-pronged way of taking lives and the immensity of up to a fourth of the world’s population would die is indeed very frightening thing. It is a great tribulation! People die from things like war, diseases and disasters like earthquakes, flood, landsides, storms, and other calamities. These things are also happening to our world today. It makes me think whether the prophecies of these seals apply to us now.
The fifth seal unveiled the martyrs who died from persecution for their faith. They were killed for being faithful to God’s word, who lived a righteous life and bearing faithful witness for their faith. They cried out for the Lord’s judgment and vengeance upon the earth, but they were each given a white robe and told to wait a little longer so that the full number of the faithful is complete. White symbolizes both victory and purity, and it encourages my heart that everyone who desires to live a pure and honest life towards God will eventually be victorious like Christ is victorious.
The sixth and final seal in this chapter is about a natural disaster – a great earthquake of such magnitude that it affected even the sun, moon and stars in the sky. It also shook every mountain and island on earth so much so that all the inhabitants, the great and small who rejected the Lamb of God, became extremely fearful. They were seeking cover from the judgment of the Lamb and trying to call upon the mountains and rocks to fall on them, saying, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (vv. 16-17)
There is much contrast between the fifth and sixth seals. While those in the fifth seal were God’s people seeking the justice and judgment of God to come upon the earth, those in the sixth seal were the rebellious people who sought to escape the same justice and judgment of the Lamb of God. This chapter is such an encouragement to us who are still living on earth and seeking to live a pure and righteous life unto the Lord – to remain faithful. It also assures us that when the end comes, God would execute his justice and judgment upon everyone who rejects him, regardless of their position, power, prosperity or poverty in this world. We stand or fall based on our relationship with the Lamb of God!
Dear God, thank you so much for the encouragement in this chapter assuring me that you have prepared for me a white robe of purity and victory, and that I could wait for your perfect timing to execute your justice and judgment upon the earth. In the meantime, please help me live for you and remain faithful all the days of my life, until you return or until you take me home with you, in the name of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ who was slain and rose from the dead. Amen!