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.

·        Jesus will release the fifth seal judgment against the Antichrist in the context of a significant increase of intercession. The prayer movement in heaven and on earth (Lk. 18:8) will increase at the fifth seal. The fifth seal judgment is against the Antichrist, not against the martyred saints.  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?”

·        The fifth seal judgment is more severe than the four preceding it. The judgments increase in intensity as the seals unfold. The fourth seal resulted in the death of one fourth of the earth. The first four seals were the wicked acting against each other as God removed His restraining hand.

·        The blood of the martyrs crying out for justice in the fifth seal is powerful. It will release a new order of supernatural judgments seen in the sixth seal, followed by the trumpets and bowls.  There is an acceleration of judgment after the fifth seal. It is the turning point in Revelation.

 2 Samuel 1:19  The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!  How the mighty have fallen!

Psalm 119:88  Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

Revelation 6:7-8

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

So I looked, and behold, a pale horse.  And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him.  And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

·        Pale horse: is literally pale green or ashen, which speaks of the color of death and decay (like a corpse). The faces of the peoples of the earth will show the terror they experience. One-fourth of the earth will be given over to Death. In other words, they will die unnatural deaths.

·        A fourth of the earth: the resistance to the mark will cause a series of events with a military backlash that will result in one-fourth of the earth being killed by war, famine, and disease.

·        The name of him was Death: the spirit of death is pictured as being in hot pursuit of the unsuspecting victims on the earth. Death is what happens to the physical body, which goes to the grave. Hades is the place where the departed spirit of an unbeliever goes after they die physically.

·        Hades (Hell) followed with him: the ranks or hordes from Hades will run behind Death. The demonic ranks of Hades will run hard behind the spirit of Death to imprison every unbeliever who dies. They will be eager to accost them. The spirit of Death will run fast on his horse, yet the hordes of Hades will keep pace. Hades will chase Death. No one ever escapes.

 Leviticus 26:22  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.

Jeremiah 15:2  And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD:  “Such as are for death, to death, and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.

Ezekiel 14:21  For thus says the Lord GOD:  “How much more it shall be when I send My four sever judgments on Jerusalem – the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence – to cut off man and beast from it?”

Revelation 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

·        Quart of wheat for a denarius: a denarius was equivalent to wages for one day of work. The message was that a day of work will earn enough money to buy food for one person for one day.  A quart of wheat is the amount for one person to eat for one day (on a very minimal diet).

·        Three quarts of barley for a denarius: wheat and barley were the common foods in John’s day.  Wheat is superior in taste and nutrition to barley. One could purchase three times the amount of barley (inferior grain) for the same price. Barley is cheaper, but less nutritious and tasty.

·        The economic crisis will result in one’s earning power being reduced to working all day to afford food for one day. This represents about ten times less buying power than in the world today.

 Deuteronomy 8:8  a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.

2 Chronicles 11:11  And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine.

Revelation 6:5

When He 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 in his hand.

·        Black horse: speaks of sorrow, sadness and mourning. Famine and economic crisis follow war.

·        Pair of scales in his hand: speaks of economics. This passage prophesies the greatest economic crisis with the most severe famine in history. This is the hour in which the Church will multiply food like when Jesus fed the 5,000. Moses witnessed a supernatural food and water supply.

 Psalm 66:5  Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.

Isaiah 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?  Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

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.

·        Fiery red - speaks of worldwide bloodshed. The first seal occurs when the nations were at peace (1 Thes. 5:3). The second seal suddenly ends the brief time of world peace.

·        Great sword - speaks of violence both civil and military. The sword is great by killing great numbers with great severity and devastation using technology that has great strength. This sword that strikes the earth is the counterfeit of when Jesus strikes the earth with a sword (Rev. 19:15).

Isaiah 34:6The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made overflowing with fatness…..

2 Chronicles 15:5  And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands

Revelation 6:3

When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”

·        The seven seals are released by Jesus the Lamb, not the Devil (Rev. 5:5; 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12; 8:1).  The book of Revelation describes His leadership in preparing the nations to receive God’s glory.  Jesus initiates these judgments against the kingdom of darkness not against the saints.

·        The Antichrist is connected to each of the four horsemen judgments. The riders of the horses show four dimensions of the Antichrist’s reign of terror. The change of color from white (peaceful aggression), to red (bloodshed), to black (famine), and to pale (death) reveals his plan.

 

Ezekiel 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures.  The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.

Psalm 66:5  Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His dong toward the sons of men.

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.

·        The horse speaks of speed and strength and white symbolizes righteousness. The Antichrist’s reign will initially appear righteous and helpful to the nations.

·        Crown - a symbol of authority over the nations. He will rise suddenly to a place of international authority.  Satan and the Antichrist are both described as having crowns (Rev. 12:2; 13:1-2, 7).

·        The Antichrist’s authority will initially increase without any bloodshed. The arrow is an ancient symbol of war that speaks of striking one’s enemies from a distance. This rider is pictured as ready to go to war with a bow in hand on a horse. However, since the bow does not have arrows, it is understood as a ‘threat of war without war actually breaking out’.

 Psalm 45:4  And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; and Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.

Zechariah 1:8  I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow:  and behind him were horses:  red, sorrel, and white.