Revelation 6:7-17

7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”

8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.

10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,^[a] were killed just as they had been.

12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,

13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.

14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us^[b] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

17 For the great day of their^[c] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”

Revelation 6:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 6

This chapter contains the vision of the opening six of the seals of the sealed book, by the Lamb, and of the events following thereupon. The preparation to the vision of the first seal is in Re 6:1; the Lamb opens it, John hears a noise like thunder, and one of the living creatures bids him come and see; upon which he saw a horse, of a white colour, and a rider on it, who is described by a bow and crown given him, and by the victory he obtained, Re 6:2; at the opening of the second seal, the second living creature invites him as before; and he sees a horse, of a red colour, with a rider on it, described by his power, to take peace from the earth, and suffer men to kill one another, and by a great sword given him, Re 6:3,4; at the opening of the third seal, the third living creature addresses him in like manner as the other; and he sees a horse, of a black colour, and a rider on it, with a pair of balances in his hands; and hears a voice from among the four living creatures, expressing dearness of provisions, and a charge not to hurt the oil and wine, Re 6:5,6; at the opening of the fourth seal, the fourth living creature speaks to John, as the rest; and he sees a horse, of a pale colour, and a rider on it, described by his name, Death, by his follower, hell, or the grave, and by his power to destroy a fourth part of the earth with the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, Re 6:7,8; at the opening of the fifth seal, John saw the souls of the martyrs, under the altar; hears their cry for vengeance; observes that white robes were given them, and that they were bid to be quiet until the slaying and suffering time of their brethren was over, Re 6:9-11; at the opening of the sixth seal follow an earthquake, strange changes in the heavens, the sun becomes black as sackcloth, the moon becomes as blood, the stars fall, and the heaven itself departs, and every island and mountain are moved out of their places, Re 6:12-14, the kings and great men of the earth, and even all sorts, of men, upon this, fly to the rocks and mountains to hide them from the face of God the Father, that sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, the opener of the sealed book; giving this as a reason for it, that the time of his great wrath was come, and none could stand before him, Re 6:15-17.

Cross References

• 1. Revelation 4:7
• 2. Zechariah 6:3
• 3. Hosea 13:14; Revelation 1:18; Revelation 20:13,14
• 4. Jeremiah 15:2,3; Jeremiah 24:10; Ezekiel 5:12,17
• 5. Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:7
• 6. Revelation 14:18; Revelation 16:7
• 7. Revelation 20:4
• 8. Romans 1:2; S Hebrews 4:12
• 9. Psalms 119:84; Zechariah 1:12
• 10. Luke 2:29; 2 Peter 2:1
• 11. S Revelation 3:7
• 12. S Revelation 3:10
• 13. Deuteronomy 32:43; 2 Kings 9:7; Psalms 79:10; Revelation 16:6; Revelation 18:20; Revelation 19:2
• 14. S Revelation 3:4
• 15. Hebrews 11:40
• 16. Psalms 97:4; Isaiah 29:6; Ezekiel 38:19; Revelation 8:5; Revelation 11:13; Revelation 16:18
• 17. S Matthew 24:29
• 18. Isaiah 50:3
• 19. S Matthew 24:29; Revelation 8:10; Revelation 9:1
• 20. Isaiah 34:4
• 21. S 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:11; Revelation 21:1
• 22. Psalms 46:2; Isaiah 54:10; Jeremiah 4:24; Ezekiel 38:20; Nahum 1:5; Revelation 16:20; Revelation 21:1
• 23. Revelation 19:18
• 24. Isa 2:10,19,21
• 25. Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30
• 26. S Revelation 5:1
• 27. Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1,2,11,31; Zephaniah 1:14,15; Revelation 16:14
• 28. Psalms 76:7; Nahum 1:6; Malachi 3:2

Footnotes

• [a]. The Greek word for "brothers and sisters" ("adelphoi" ) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 12:10; 19:10.
• [b]. See Hosea 10:8.
• [c]. Some manuscripts "his"