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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 6:1 - 6:6
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
The Opening of Six Seals of the Scroll.
The opening of the first three seals:
v. 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.
v. 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.
v. 3. And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
v. 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.
v. 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.
v. 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.
Here begins the narration of some of the happenings which would strike the Christian Church, the Church Militant, beginning with the time at which John wrote, and ending with the great Day of Judgment. Whenever a seal of the scroll was opened, the special event with which it was connected came forth from the roll and was presented to the seer in a picture or symbol. Of the first seal he relates: And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living beings saying as the voice of thunder, Come and see. The Lamb, Christ, alone was worthy and able to open the seals of the scroll on God's hand, and He opened them one by one. With the voice of thunder John was here called to be a witness of future things, for the lion-faced cherub, one, or the first, of the four living beings, chap. 4:7, shouted to him to come and see. His attention having thus been arrested, John writes: And I saw, and, behold, a white horse, and him that sat upon him having a bow, and there was given to him a crown, and he went forth conquering and that he might conquer. Since the prophet does not explain the meaning of this symbol, nothing definite may be said about it. Some Lutheran commentators believe the hero to be Christ, who goes forth in triumph to overcome with the power of His Gospel. Others believe that the passage refers to the government, which may, under circumstances, become tyrannical and afflict the Christians with persecutions and other tribulations.
The opening of the second seal: And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living being saying, Come. Here it was the ox faced cherub that invited John to be a witness of the things that should come to pass. This picture is one of terrible aspect: And there went forth another red horse, and to him that sat upon him there was given to take peace from the earth and that men might slap one another, and to him was given a great sword. In this picture everything points to war and bloodshed, the red color of the horse, the fact that men received power to slay one another after peace was taken away from the earth, the fact that this rider was given a merciless weapon. The history of the world, also in the so-called Christian era, is an account of wars and rumors of wars, and the Church of Christ has also suffered the tribulation which come upon men through war and the shedding of blood.
The opening of the third seal: And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living being saying, Come and see. Here it was the man-faced cherub that called upon John to be a witness of the things which were to come upon men in the future. The outlook in this case is still more fearsome: And I saw, and, behold, a black horse, and him that sat upon him holding a pair of scales in his hand; and I heard like a voice in the midst of the four living beings saying, A measure of wheat for a denarion, and three measures of barley for a denarion; but the oil and the wine do not harm. A denarion, the day's wages for a laboring man, Mat_20:2, was equal to about seventeen cents in normal times; and a measure was a little more than two pints. The description points to a state of famine, when provisions become cruelly expensive, when times are black and dark. At such times, which, as the prophecy shows, were sure to come, it would be a matter of careful measuring and planning to make the small daily income cover all expenses. In such days a man may well be obliged to dispense with the more costly wheat and to be satisfied with the cheaper barley. Only one fact tends to relieve the dreary outlook, namely, this, that some articles of food at least are excepted from the soaring prices. Thus the Church has also been made a sufferer on account of famine and extremely high prices, when the Lord laid His chastening hand upon the world.