Revelation 6:1-17

(Revelation 6:1-17)

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.  And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.  And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And 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; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.  And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. 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.  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And 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;  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

One of the most important things mentioned in the book of Revelation is the church. Revelation describes the church as coexisting in both heavenly and earthly places. Revelation was written under the influence of apocalyptic literature, and one of the characteristics of apocalyptic literature is that it transcends space and time. Because it transcends space, the church exists at the same time on earth and in heaven, and because it transcends time, it describes the present and the end as living together. We humans are limited by time and space, but God, the Creator, transcends time and space, so we can see the present and the future together. So, it is possible because we can see the image of the church that exists on this earth now and the church that exists in the future to come.

The appearance of the church on earth described in the book of Revelation is a fighting church. The churches of this land are portrayed as fighting against the evil forces of this land because they are bound to suffer and persecute for the problems of this land. However, a new heaven and a new earth are given as inheritance to the saints who keep their faith until the end and triumph over amid tribulation and persecution. The very inherited believers are praising God the Creator and Jesus the Redeemer in heaven, and this is the church in the future, that is, the church that exists in heaven. This is the appearance of the church in the book of Revelation.

Chapters 2-3 introduced the appearance of the church that exists on this earth. It is a church that exists in the past, present, and future, encompassing the earth and all generations represented by the seven churches in Asia Minor. The churches on this earth, represented by the seven churches, are struggling with many problems, and the Lord demands of the saints to fight and triumph over them. And, the Lord tells the saints who win the battles on this earth that they will inherit a new heaven and a new earth at the end. And, in chapters 4-5, the very end was shown as a figure of saints praising God the Creator and Jesus the Redeemer in heaven.

In Chapter 6, the words of the three judgments, the body of Revelation, begin. The three stories of judgment are: First, judgment contained in the seven seals. Second, the judgment contained in the seven trumpets. Third, it consists of the story of judgment contained in seven bowls. First, before looking at the stories of the three referees, it is important to note that there are certain patterns in the referee stories. The most striking patterns are three (seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls). It is true that each judge has seven contents of the judgment. Of the seven judges, the first four each have unity, and the remaining three are characterized by distinction between the first two and the other.

In the case of the judgment contained in the seven seals, the first four are united by four creatures and four horses. one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 』

The story of judgment in the seven seals begins with the first of the seven seals removed. First, when one of the four creatures spoke, a man on a white horse came out. Then, when the second seal was removed, the second creature spoke, and a red horse came out. When the third seal was removed, a black horse came out as the third creature spoke. When the fourth seal was removed, a blue-yellow horse came out when the fourth creature spoke.

Summarizing the above, we can see that the first part of the judgment story contained in the seven seals out of the three judgment stories has four unified structures. That is, of the seven judgment contents, the first four consist of four creatures and four horses. This structure is also recorded in the rest of the referee story. In addition, of the seven judgment contents, just as the first four have unity, the other three are undergoing God's judgment in different ways. In other words, the seven judgment stories consist of four and three structures.

Of the seven judgment stories, it is divided into four and three structures, and there are seven judgments in total, and the contents and objects are four. Seven is a perfect number. In the Bible, four are meant to represent the entire natural world, east, west, north and south. Therefore, the number seven implies the perfection of God's judgment itself, and the number four implies the perfection in the object of judgment. This means that God's judgment is perfect, and there is no object to escape God's judgment.

The white words mean that the gospel preaching movement will be energetic. The red word means a war that removes peace from the land. Black words mean severe famine and economic tribulation. "One denarius to say, one denarius to be barley" is an extreme economic risk. However, the more secret is that olive oil and wine do not harm. It means that he is not angry with the religious element and the part for the worship of the saints. Blue and yellow words mean sword, famine and death. It could be the plague that came after the war. After breaking the fifth seal, there is an appeal from a martyr. There may be martyrdom of those who were loyal under the altar, and God will surely compensate for their sins. When the sixth seal was removed, there was a great natural disaster. The power of those who hold the power of the world refers to a time when they become completely helpless.

The three stories of judgment fall into the body of the book of Revelation. By the way, the fact that the same subject of judgment is recorded over and over three times shows how important this is. After all, it is true that the main point of Revelation is the story of judgment. And the conclusion of this judgment story is explained by the fall of Babylon and the appearance of the New Jerusalem. In other words, the conclusion of the three stories of judgment is that Babylon's described forces of evil will be completely eliminated, and new heavens and new earth will be given as inheritance to the saints who have kept their faith to the end amidst tribulation and persecution.

『For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? 』In turn, the sealed ones are removed. After the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th seals were broken, after the last words of chapter 6 were recorded, it went to chapter 7 and the story of the 144,000 churches that existed in heaven and earth came out. From Chapter 1, the seventh seal is broken, and the judgment of the seven trumpets begins again. Here, it is important that the sixth seal is a swarm, and the seventh seal is not immediately swamped, and a story about the 144,000 existing in heaven and on earth is inserted between them.

 As the things sealed in Chapter 6 were swarming, God's judgment came upon the earth, because the last verse of Chapter 6 asks: “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? 』Chapter 7 is the answer to that question. The answer is that even in the midst of the great tribulation, the 144,000 saints do not perish, but stand. In the end, even in the midst of tribulation and persecution, the saints are delivering the message of victory. So, the book of Revelation is a word that gives comfort and hope to the saints in tribulation and persecution. Even in the midst of great temptations, the saints will eventually triumph in Christ.