Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Revelation 6

Revelation 6:¹ Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the (seven) seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”

First Seal: The Conqueror

Revelation 6:² And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Second Seal: Conflict on Earth

Revelation 6:³ When He (the Lamb) opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”

Revelation 6:⁴ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

Third Seal: Scarcity on Earth

Revelation 6:⁵ When He (the Lamb) opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales (balances) in his hand.

Revelation 6:⁶ And I heard a voice (unidentified) in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart (Gr. choinix, about 1 quart) of wheat for a denarius (About 1 day’s wage for a worker), and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

Fourth Seal: Death and Hades

Revelation 6:⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”

Revelation 6:⁸ So I looked, and behold, a pale (green: chlorophyll) horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power (authority) was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword (conflict), with hunger (famine), with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs

Revelation 6:⁹ 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 testimony which they held.

• Matthew 24:⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.
• THEN (the middle of the tribulation) ⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Revelation 6:¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

• Revelation 7:9-11, 13- A Multitude from the Great Tribulation –
• ⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
• ¹³ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
• ¹⁴ And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
• So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ 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 dwell among them. ¹⁶ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
• Revelation 20:4 The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years –
• And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

• Revelation 13:15
• He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed (becoming martyrs).

Revelation 6:¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

• These waited for the sealing of the 144,000 Jewish men who would be a remnant still alive at the end of the tribulation. The rest will be martyred.

Sixth Seal: Cosmic

Revelation 6:¹² I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

Revelation 6:¹³ And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

Revelation 6:14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up (Or split apart), and every mountain and island was moved out of its place (earthquake).

Revelation 6:¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,

Revelation 6:¹⁶ and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

Revelation 6:¹⁷ For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand.

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Note: The entire chapter of Revelation 7 continues the preparation for Jesus’ return which is finally announced in Revelation 8.

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRIBULATION