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Bible Study: Revelation - What Was, What Is, What Is To Come - Chapter 6

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material.

Stacey


Take a few minutes to savor Revelation Chapter 6. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations.

6:1-2 — 1st seal — white horse and rider with bow. He's given a crown and rode out as a conqueror. This is the false Christ.

6:2 — See Psalms 45:4-5; Zechariah 1:6; 6:1 (AMP)

6:2-8 — The four horses are a prelude to the final judgments. Some see this chapter as a parallel to Matthew 24.

6:3-4 — 2nd seal — fiery red horse and rider with large sword and power to take peace from the earth and make men slay each other. Red represents warfare and bloodshed.

6:4 — sword — machaira — the short sword/dagger. (See 1:16) The NIV verse says "large sword". KJV and NAS say, "great sword". AMP says, "huge sword". The tool implied here is a large knife, used for killing animals and cutting up flesh.

6:4-8 — judgment and horse — see Jeremiah 14:12, Ezekiel 14:21, Zechariah 1:8.

6:5-6 — 3rd seal — black horse and rider with scales. Black represents famine.

Whose voice is heard from among the four living creatures?

6:6 — rider holding scales — how food will be sold

a quart of wheat for a day's wages and three quarts of barley... - quart=choinix=dry measure slightly greater than one liter. In the 5th century BC, a quart of grain was a fair daily ration for a Persian soldier or a Greek slave; for a Greek soldier twice as much was thought suitable. Day's wages — a denarius according to Matthew 20:2. This was a laborer's daily wage in Palestine in AD 30. This is a bit higher than the siege rations of Ezekiel 4:10. Reminds me of 2 Kings 7:16-20 where we're told about what flour and barley sell for.

Since the price of essentials is so astronomical that it costs the average day's wage for bread, this explains why non-believers take the mark of the beast.

What alternatives might these people have to see to their basic needs at this time?

See 2 Kings 6:25 (AMP)

6:7-8 — 4th seal — pale horse and rider named Death with Hades following. They're given power over %4 of the earth to kill by sword, famine, plague and wild beasts. Life App SB says pale color represents death.

Picture an ashen, corpse-like color. AMP says, "black and blue as if made so by bruising."

6:8 — Death — thanatos — plague or pestilence, famine. See Ezekiel 14:21 Hades — the region of the departed spirits of the lost.

sword — rhomphaia — a large sword, a long javelin. (See 1:16)

God is still in control, limiting the four riders to power over 1/4 of the earth. Why? Because this war isn't over yet. There is still time for unbelievers to repent and turn to Christ for salvation.

See Ezekiel 5:12; Hosea 13:14 (AMP)

6:9-11 — 5th seal — martyrs beneath the altar ask God how much longer they must wait to be avenged. They are given white robes and told to wait a little longer.

6:10 — See Genesis 4:10; Psalms 79:5; Zechariah 1:12 (AMP) 6:11 — AMP says, "long and flowing and festive white robe."

6:12-17 — 6th seal — there's an earthquake, the sun turns black, the moon turns blood-red. The stars fall to earth and the skies roll up like a scroll. The mountains and islands are removed from their places. Then all of the people hid in caves and called on the rocks to fall upon them and hide them from the face of God and the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of Their wrath has come. See Matthew 24:1-51, especially v. 29. Also see Mark 13:1-37 (esp. v. 24), Isaiah 13:10, Luke 21:5-36 (esp. v. 25), Joel 2:28-32.

6:12 — earthquake — this activity is a frequent Biblical indication of divine visitation. See Exodus 19:18; Zechariah 14:4; Matthew 27:51.

See Joel 2:10, 31 (AMP)

6:13 — stars fall to earth — See Mark 13:25.

See Isaiah 34:4 (AMP)

6:14 — sky recedes and rolls up — see Isaiah 34:4. Is this how we will see Jesus coming on the clouds? Is this when the rapture happens? AMP says, "sky rolled up like a scroll and vanished."

6:15-17 — everyone will recognize God's authority. Those who are arrogant will hide. Those humbled by His divine presence will fall to their knees in worship before it's too late.

6:15 — See Isaiah 2:10 (AMP)

6:16 — they call to the mountains and rocks, "fall on us" — see Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30.

See Isaiah 2:19-21; Hosea 10:8 (AMP)

6:17 — the great day of their wrath — the church will be spared this. See 1 Thessalonians 5:9.
See Joel 2:11; Malachi 3:2 (AMP)



  • Remember that the main message of the book of Revelation is the infinite love, power and justice of the Lord Jesus Christ. How is this evident in today’s text?
  • What attributes of God do you see in this chapter?
  • What scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?

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