(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for verse-by-verse study or meditation. To focus each
verse we have also added in italic a description of what is happening)
[NOTE:
As we move on through this particular book it might be worth while
reminding ourselves that this is a book of prophecy and prophecy
often uses analogies and other picture forms that leave it open
to different interpretations. Although these notes may make occasional
references to this, what we provide are only meant as very basic
notes to aid the reader digesting what they read, and any deeper
comments about schools of interpretation etc. are beyond this
goal.]
To
go to Ch.7 CLICK HERE
FRAMEWORKS:
Revelation 6: The Seals Opened
v.1,2
Seal One – a Conqueror
v.3,4
Seal Two – Peace removed and extreme violence
v.5,6
Seal Three – Famine
v.7,8
Seal Four – Death – a quarter of the earth
v.9-11
Seal Five – Martyrs revealed
v.13-17
Seal Six – Massive earth & skies upheaval
[Note:
In this chapter of six seals being broken (each one along the
edges allowing a bit more of the scroll to be unrolled) we first
see a series of FOUR ‘judgments' being released. Some would say
these are specific acts of God but an equal interpretation is
that after the first one (that some suggest are the Gospel period)
the following three are all increasing effects of sinfulness on
the earth: violence, famine, and then increased death by violence,
famine & plague. The fifth seal reveals the frustration of
the martyrs which paves the way for the sixth seal, mighty destructive
upheavals on the earth and in the sky. We have to wait a chapter
for the seventh seal to be opened.]
v.1,2
Seal One – a Conqueror
v.1
(the
lamb & one of the creatures [a different one each time] herald
the first judgment) 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!”
v.2
(a
white horse [?purity] with a conquering king) 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.
v.3,4
Seal Two – Peace removed and extreme violence
v.3,4
(red
[?for blood] a remover of peace and bringer of killing) When
the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the
second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out,
a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from
the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given
a large sword.
v.5,6
Seal Three – Famine
v.5
(a
black horse [?death] with scales suggesting shortages) 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.
v.6
(measurements
suggesting famine & shortages) Then
I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures,
saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day's wages, and six pounds
of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the
wine!”
v.7,8
Seal Four – Death – a quarter of the earth
v.7,8
(a
pale horse [?ebbing life] brings Death by four forms) When
the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the
voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 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 [i]
sword, [ii] famine
and [iii] plague, and by the
[iv] wild beasts of the earth.
[note, one leads on to the other]
v.9-11
Seal Five – Martyrs revealed
v.9
(sacrificed
martyrs) 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.
v.10
(they
call for justice) 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?”
v.11
(they
are only the first ones) Then
each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait
a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants,
their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
v.13-17
Seal Six – Massive earth & skies upheaval
v.12,13
(earth & skies upheaval) 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, and the stars in the
sky fell to earth, [?symbolic
warning of ‘top people'?]
as figs drop from a fig tree when
shaken by a strong wind.
v.14
(utter
devastation) The
heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain
and island was removed from its place.
v.15-17
(no
one feels secure any longer – complete revelation & understanding
of what is happening) Then
the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the
mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and
among the rocks of the mountains.
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! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who
can withstand it?”
[Comment:
In Rom 1:24-28 we are given a picture of God standing back, taking
off His hands of restraint from the each and letting sinful mankind
go in a downward spiral of self-destruction. There it was limited
but here we have a picture of larger ‘judgments' which can be
largely attributed to the folly of godless mankind. It is only
at the end that the catastrophes of the heavens and earth seem
to take us beyond that, although the descriptions of v.12-14 are
reminiscent of the pictures of a total nuclear holocaust which
even now is just waiting to happen. Time alone will tell. Whether
it is the direct hand of God or God opening the door for the folly
of mankind, again only time will tell. But remember, behind it
is the Lamb of God opening up the way for it all to happen.
Note:
In the ‘sevens' there are six laid out and then a gap. After the
first six seals being opened there is the gap of chapter 7 (the
martyrs and survivors), and the seventh seal opening appears at
the start of chapter 8 as the precursor of the 7 trumpets sounding
the next series of judgments]
8:1(silence
implies waiting for the impending doom ) When
he opened the seventh seal, there was silence
in heaven for about half an hour.
FRAMEWORKS:
Revelation 7: The Martyrs & Survivors
v.1-3
Preparations for Sealing
v.4-8
The 144,000 Sealed
v.9-17
The Great Multitude in White Robes
v.1-3
Preparations for Sealing
v.1
(angelic
control over the earth is seen by John) After
this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,
holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from
blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.
v.2
(an
angel comes with a specific purpose) Then
I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of
the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels
who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:
v.3
(this
almost seems to step backwards as if giving insight into what has
already happened before the judgments of chapter 6) “Do
not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a
seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
v.4-8
The 144,000 Sealed
v.4
(a
symbolic symmetrical picture? of literal Israel, or of the church
(?), sealed with a mark of ownership for subsequently protection)
Then
I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the
tribes of Israel.
5 From
the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from
the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from
the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from
the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from
the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from
the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from
the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from
the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from
the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from
the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from
the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from
the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
v.9-17
The Great Multitude in White Robes
v.9
(whatever
the first group, we now see all the redeemed of history) After
this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no
one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing
white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
v.10
(they
declare Christ's salvation) And
they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation
belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
v.11,12
(those
closest to the throne give glory to God for this) All
the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders
and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before
the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen!
Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
v.13
(one
of the elders challenges John) Then
one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they,
and where did they come from?”
v.14
(he
explains they are the saved who have come through the terrible ordeals
of the fallen world) I
answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have
come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
v.15
(therefore
they have access to, and serve, God) Therefore,
“they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night
in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them
with his presence.
v.16
(now
they have eternal security and provision) ‘Never
again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun
will not beat down on them,' nor any scorching heat.
v.17
(now
they are with their great Shepherd) For
the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.' ‘And
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'”
[Comment:
The more commentaries you pick up the more interpretations
of this chapter you will find. Two particular points of debate arise
here.
(i)
Identity:
Noting what is here we see two groups:
v.4 “from all the tribes of Israel”
?only Jews
v.9 “a great multitude…. from
every nation, tribe, people and language” ?including saved Jews
The
first group have no qualification except belonging to Israel and
there is no indication where they are, or of their future.
The
second group stand before the throne and are clearly the redeemed
who have a future with Christ.
The
mystery is more the meaning of the first group.
In
chapter 14 there is another 144,000 but clearly not the same group.
Some have suggested various mathematical permutations to arrive
at the figure and perhaps the safest thing to say is that the set
number is clearly used to mark out these particular people. In its
simplest form it, it would be to say that in the mystery that is
Israel throughout the ages, there are a number of them known to
God who remained true to Him – those from the various ‘faithful
remnants' that appear in the Old Testament.
(ii)
The Great Tribulation:
Again there are a variety of suggestions about the meaning of this
term from v.14 above.
Some have suggested that this
simply describes life in the fallen world where rejection of God
and opposition to His people is common.
Others have suggested that it
refers only to a particularly harsh time in the End Times.
On
the one side, the church of the first three centuries experienced
particularly harsh persecution sometimes and the letters of James
and Peter in particular reveal a scattered church struggling to
cope with persecution. At the present time (and throughout Church
history) there have always been, and still are, large parts of the
church suffering under persecution around the world.
On
the other there are indications in this book that this end time
will be particularly difficult. As we have said before, time will
tell and maybe it is pride that declares any of us have the only
right solution.]
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