Revelation Chapter 6

At a Glance

  • Revelation 6 marks the opening of the seven-sealed scroll’s progressive unveiling.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • This chapter belongs to Revelation’s apocalyptic drama, using vivid apocalyptic imagery to articulate suffering and hope in the late first century context.
  • - Suffering as a stage for revelation: The seals reveal the consequences of a fallen world and the testing of faithfulness.
  • - Martyrdom and witness: The cry of the martyrs highlights faithful endurance under persecution.

Chapter Overview

Revelation 6 marks the opening of the seven-sealed scroll’s progressive unveiling. The Lamb opens the first six seals, releasing four horsemen or riders who symbolize conquest, war, famine, and death. The first horse, a white one, carries a conqueror; the second, red, brings war; the third, black, signals famine with a dramatic measure-and-value image; and the fourth, pale, personifies death followed by Hades. Each seal reveals escalating turmoil on the earth as God’s redemptive plan unfolds. The fifth seal reveals the souls of martyrs beneath the altar, crying out for justice and pleading for vindication. They are given white robes and told to rest a little longer until their fellow servants and brothers are killed as they were. The sixth seal brings a cataclysmic earthquake, darkening sun, moon turning to blood, stars falling, and the heavens retreating. The opening sequence culminates with a sense of cosmic disruption that foreshadows God’s imminent judgments and the perseverance of the faithful amidst suffering. The chapter ends with a dramatic call for inner endurance and the realization that the divine drama is bigger than any single generation’s experience.

Historical & Literary Context

This chapter belongs to Revelation’s apocalyptic drama, using vivid apocalyptic imagery to articulate suffering and hope in the late first century context. The seven-seal scroll motif is a distinct literary device that frames history as a battleground where divine sovereignty interfaces with human rebellion. The imagery of riders on horseback has deep roots in prophetic and intertestamental literature, signaling geopolitical and social upheaval, while the martyrs under the altar connect to the Jewish temple symbolism and the testimony of faithful witnesses. The sequence emphasizes that while severe trials may intensify in the end times, they are not outside God’s sovereign control and purpose.

Key Themes

- Suffering as a stage for revelation: The seals reveal the consequences of a fallen world and the testing of faithfulness.

- Martyrdom and witness: The cry of the martyrs highlights faithful endurance under persecution.

- Divine judgment and divine timing: The seals unfold according to God’s timing, not human whim.

- Hope in the midst of tribulation: The believers are reminded of ultimate justice and God’s sovereignty.

Modern Application

For readers today, Revelation 6 offers a sober but hopeful lens on hardship. It acknowledges real suffering—persecution, hunger, conflict, and death—while insisting these events are part of a larger, divine plan that leads to vindication and renewal. The martyrs’ cry to justice invites contemporary Christians to pursue justice and to trust God’s timing even when immediate relief seems absent. The imagery serves as a rhetorical counterweight to despair, encouraging perseverance, faithful witness, and a robust theology of hope. Practically, this means cultivating resilience through Scripture, community, and prayer; supporting the persecuted or marginalized; and remaining faithful to God’s word even when it costs something. The chapter invites believers to view current events through the lens of God’s sovereignty, recognizing that suffering is not meaningless but part of a larger redemptive drama.

- Daniel 7 (visions of conquest, beasts, and judgment)

- Matthew 24:6-14 (birth pains and persecution)

- Luke 21:25-28 (signs and the coming of the Son of Man)

Recommended Personas

- Jesus (as the Lamb who holds the seals)

- Paul (endurance under persecution)

- Peter (perseverance in trials)

- John (the prophetic observer)

Chapter Text

1

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.

2

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.

3

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

4

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.

5

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.

6

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.

7

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

8

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.

9

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:

10

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?

11

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.

12

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;

13

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.

14

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15

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;

16

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:

17

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Discuss This Chapter with Biblical Personas

Explore Revelation Chapter 6 with Biblical figures who can provide unique perspectives grounded in Scripture.

Ask Apostle PaulAsk MosesAsk King DavidAsk Jesus Christ
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