Chapter IX REVELATION 4–7 : THE SEVEN SEALS
REVELATION 4–7: THE SEVEN SEALS
WHENEVER in history the Church is faithful to its calling and bears testimony concerning the truth, tribulation is bound to follow. Apart even from this fact, the Church is in the world. Accordingly it suffers along with the world. Children of God do not escape the horrors of war, famine, and pestilence. The Church needs these tribulations. It needs both the direct antagonism of the world and participation in the common woes that pertain to this earthly life as a result of sin. The Church, too, is sinful. It is in constant need of purification and sanctification.
These tribulations, therefore, are employed by our Lord as an instrument for our own spiritual advancement. We see God’s footstool. Let us not forget His throne! To be sure, we say that to them that love God all things work together for good; but do we really believe it? Sometimes we speak and act as if the control of events and the destiny of the world rested in the hands of men instead of in the hands of God. Chapters 4 and 5, however, supply the needed correction and bring us a vision of the throne which rules the universe.
In the midst of trial and tribulation may our gaze be towards the One who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
1. The vision of the throne (4: 1–6)
‘After these things I saw, and behold, a door standing open in heaven’ (4: 1). Having heard the epistles to the churches, John returned for a while to his ordinary state of mind. How long this interval lasted we do not know. Afterwards he had a vision. He is not yet ‘in the Spirit’. When a person has a vision, he may still be sensible to his surroundings. Thus, for example, Stephen is fully aware of the presence of those evil men who are stoning him. In fact, he is addressing them while he has the vision of the heavens opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7: 54–60; see also Mt. 3: 16). Similarly, the apostle John now has a vision. With wide-eyed wonder he beholds a door standing open in heaven. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 1.) While he is looking, the same voice that spoke to him before (1: 10) addresses him. It is the voice of Christ, bidding him: ‘Come up here’. The seer’s spirit receives the invitation to ascend to the throne above. We mean, of course, to the throne as it appears in the vision. Only when we view all things, including our tribulations (chapter 6), from the aspect of the throne, shall we gain a true insight into history.
‘... And I will show you the things which must come to pass hereafter.’ This, of course, cannot mean: ‘I will show you the things which must come to pass after this dispensation’.[1] As in 1: 19 so here ‘hereafter’ means ‘in the future’.
‘Immediately I was in the Spirit.’ Was this the result of the voice which the apostle heard? From the condition of merely seeing a vision, the soul of John now enters the higher ecstatic state of ‘being in the Spirit’. Certainly what the apostle is about to see is also a vision. If it is not a vision, it is necessary for us to imagine that in heaven there is a material throne surrounded by twenty-four literal, physical thrones, and that the literal Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes. This, of course, is absurd. John receives a vision. It is a continuation of ‘the door standing open in heaven’. Yet, this is more than a vision, that is, the seer now enters a higher ecstatic state, namely, that of ‘being in the Spirit’. One can have a vision without being in the Spirit, as we have already indicated with respect to Stephen. When a person is ‘in the Spirit’ and being in that state has a vision, there is a suspension of conscious contact with the physical environment. John no longer sees with his physical eyes; he no longer hears with his physical ears. His soul is drawn away from all surrounding objects and wholly fixed on the things which are shown to him in the vision. It is ‘carried away’ to the region of the throne (cf. 17: 3), to the region of the throne as it appears to him in the vision.[2]
But though the various objects which John beholds do not exist in that physical, material form, they express an important spiritual truth. They teach one main lesson. Let us not lose ourselves in our interpretation of details; let us not try to find a ‘deeper meaning’ when there is none. We repeat: chapters 4 and 5 teach one main lesson. The picture is one; the lesson is one.
Diagram of the vision described in Revelation 4 and 5:
THE UNIVERSE GOVERNED BY THE THRONE
The vision consists of one single picture and teaches one main lesson. The square at the centre represents the throne with steps leading up to it. In the centre of the throne sits the Father (Rev. 4: 2).
The innermost circle 1 represents the sparkling white diamond (4: 3); circle 2 the sardius (4: 3); circle 3 the emerald rainbow (4: 3); circle 4 the four living ones or cherubim (4: 6); circle 5 the twenty-four thrones with their elders (4: 4); circle 6 the many angels (5: 11); and circle 7 all other creatures in the entire universe (5: 13).
The seven lamps and the sea of glass are also before the throne (4: 5, 6). The Lamb (L) stands between the throne and the living ones on the one side, and the twenty-four elders on the other (5: 6). But the Lamb later advances to the throne (5: 7), and is now seated on it with the Father (22: 1).
The throne rules over all. Take this lesson to heart!
These chapters, moreover, do not give us a picture of heaven. They describe the entire universe from the aspect of heaven. The purpose of this vision is to show us, in beautiful symbolism, that all things are governed by the Lord on the throne. ‘All things’ must include our trials and tribulations. That is the point. That is why the description of the throne precedes the symbolic prediction of the trials and tribulations which the Church must experience here on earth. These are described in chapter 6. Study carefully the diagram of this vision in connection with Revelation 4, 5, and our explanation.
Chapters 4 and 5 teach one main lesson. Unless we clearly grasp this point, we shall never see the glorious unity of the Apocalypse. We shall lose ourselves in allegorization. That one main lesson may be expressed in the words of the Psalmist: ‘Jehovah reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits above the cherubim; let the earth be moved.’ The assurance of this truth should impart comfort to believers in the midst of fiery trials. That is why this vision of the universe governed by the throne precedes the symbolic description of the trials through which the Church must pass, chapter 6. This is a very beautiful arrangement.
With the aid of our diagram let us now study this vision.
‘Behold, a throne!’ The throne is the very centre of the universe, not the physiographical but the spiritual centre. Here is the true foundation for astronomy. The universe of the Bible is neither geocentric nor heliocentric nor sagittario-centric but coelocentric, that is, theocentric.[3] See the diagram. Here, too, is the true philosophy of history. The newspapers and radio announcements give you the headlines and news-flashes. The magazines add the explanations. But these explanations are, after all, in terms of secondary causes. The real mind, the real will which—while fully maintaining the responsibility and freedom of the individual instruments—controls this universe is the mind, the will of the Almighty God! Nothing is excluded from His dominion.
The term ‘throne’ occurs seventeen times in these two chapters. That throne is not on earth but in heaven. It stands in the Holy of holies of the heavenly temple just as the ark of the covenant stood in the Holy of holies of the earthly Tabernacle or Temple (Ex. 25: 22). In this vision we very definitely have a tabernacle or temple scene.[4] God is king and as such dwells in the temple. The representation that His throne is in the temple is clearly based upon biblical symbolism (Is. 6: 1; Je. 3: 17; 14: 21; Ezk. 1: 26; 8: 4; 43: 7).
‘... And one sitting upon the throne.’ Upon the throne sits—in majesty—God the Father. What the apostle describes is not God Himself, for He cannot be described (Ex. 20: 4), but His effulgence, His radiance. In the vision He is represented as surrounded with the flashing lustre of the diamond, crystal-clear (21: 11), white, consuming,[5] symbolizing God’s holiness; and with the bloody red of the sardius, indicating that this holy character of Jehovah expresses itself in judgments. It cannot tolerate sin, and this explains these seven lamps of fire, and these flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder that proceed from the throne (4: 5). Such is God, the Holy One. Such is His throne of majesty. Tremble before Him, O earth and its inhabitants!
Yet, around the throne there is a rainbow translucent green in appearance, signifying that for God’s children the storm is over. Christ stood in the poor sinner’s place. The sun, long hidden, is shining into the clouds. Even though God’s holiness cannot brook sin and must be expressed in judgments, yet these very woes have as their purpose the salvation of the sinner and his furtherance in sanctification. All things—including slaughter and poverty, war, famine, and pestilence—work together for good to them that love God, that are called according to His purpose (see Rom. 8: 28).
‘And from what looked like his loins downward I saw something that resembled fire, with a radiance round about it resembling the bow that appears in the clouds on a rainy day.’
2. The elders and the living ones (4: 7–11)
Around the central throne John sees twenty-four thrones, and upon these thrones twenty-four elders, probably representing the entire Church of the old and the new dispensation. Think of the twelve patriarchs and the twelve apostles. (Cf. Rev. 21: 12–14.) They wear the garments of holiness and upon their heads there are golden crowns of victory. These twenty-four elders are mentioned first for the simple reason that they are first in importance and in glory of all creatures in heaven (Gn. 1: 26; Heb. 2: 8). We must not lose sight of the fact, however, that the real reason why these twenty-four thrones with their occupants are mentioned here is to enhance the glory of the throne that stands in the centre. That throne represents God’s sovereignty. The twenty-four elders are constantly rendering homage to the Being upon the throne. So great is the throne!
Whom do these elders worship? Only the Father? No, the triune God. As in 1: 4, 5, so also here we have a description of the Trinity in terms of temple symbolism. The Father is seated upon the throne out of which issues flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. He is pictured here as dwelling in the heavenly Holy of holies.[6] Further, just as in the Holy place of the earthly Tabernacle, so here, John sees seven lamps of fire. Here he sees them as burning before the throne. (See diagram.) They symbolize the ever-active, superlatively wise, and all-seeing Holy Spirit, full of fire for the wicked; full of sanctifying power for the godly. Furthermore, as the court of the earthly Tabernacle had its laver or ‘sea’, so here John beholds a sea. This sea is before the throne. It is of glass, like crystal, indicating sanctifying power. We should think of it as containing, symbolically, the cleansing blood of Christ, the Son, in which the saints have ‘washed their robes and made them white’ (7: 14).
‘And in the midst of the throne and around the throne four living ones studded with eyes before and behind’ (4: 6). Each of these ‘living ones’ stands on one side of the throne in the middle of the steps leading up to it so that there is one ‘living one’ for each side of the throne, and the four encircle the throne. (See the diagram.) These four ‘living ones’ standing ready to render service to God in any of the four directions, that is, in any part of the universe, represent all the ‘living ones’, just as the twenty-four redeemed elders represent the entire army of the redeemed. But who are these ‘living ones’?
In order to answer this question we should bear in mind that there is a very close connection between this entire throne vision and the first and tenth chapters of Ezekiel. We urge the reader to study Ezekiel 1 and 10 very carefully. Notice the following striking resemblances.[7] In both cases these beings are called ‘living ones’. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 5 with Rev. 4: 6.) In both cases the symbolic number is the same, namely, four. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 5 with Rev. 4: 6.) In both cases the appearance of their faces is compared to that of man, lion, ox, and eagle. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 10 with Rev. 4: 7.) In both cases they are closely associated with the throne. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 26 with Rev. 4: 6.) In both cases fire moves to and fro among the ‘living ones’. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 13 with Rev. 4: 5: ‘Out of the fire went lightning.’) In both cases these ‘living ones’ are said to be studded all over with eyes. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 18; 10: 12 with Rev. 4: 8.) In both cases a rainbow encircles the throne with which the ‘living ones’ are associated. (Cf. Ezk. 1: 28 with Rev. 4: 3.) The few minor differences in the description of the ‘living ones’ need not surprise us. In fact, we should expect them. They are entirely in harmony with the distinct purpose which each author has in mind.[8]
But Ezekiel 10: 20 tells us in so many words that the ‘living ones’ are the cherubim. We, therefore, fully believe that here in Revelation also these ‘living ones’ are the cherubim.[9] They are a very high order of angels, one of the highest orders. This conclusion is altogether reasonable. The cherubim guard the holy things of God (Gn. 3: 24; Ex. 25: 20), so it is altogether normal and natural that we find them here in this vision in close proximity to the throne. Besides, we find them here in the heavenly Holy of holies, exactly where one expects to find them (Ex. 25: 20).
Observe also that the song of these ‘living ones’ is the song of angels. In Isaiah the seraphim sing it (Is. 6: 1–4). Then why should not the cherubim sing it?
This conclusion receives added confirmation from the consideration that the ‘living ones’ are described as being in strength like the lion, in ability to render service like the ox, in intelligence like man—notice also their many eyes, indicating intellectual penetration—and in swiftness like the eagle, ever ready to obey God’s commandments and to render service. Surely it is worthy of attention that the characteristics of strength, service, intelligence, and swiftness are everywhere ascribed to angels. (Cf. Ps. 103: 20, 21; Dn. 9: 21; Lk. 12: 8; 15: 10; Heb. 1: 14; etc.)
When in 5: 11 we read that ‘many’ angels surrounded the twenty-four elders, this does not in any way conflict with the conclusion which we have reached, namely, that the ‘living ones’ on the steps of the throne are the cherubim.[10] And when in 7: 11 we read that ‘all’ the angels were standing round about the twenty-four elders, this ‘all’ refers, of course, to the ‘many’ of 5: 11: all the ‘many’ angels were standing around the twenty-four elders.
We do not believe that these cherubim have any deeper significance. We do not believe that they represent all creatures. When the seer wishes to refer to all creatures, he does so in clear language (5: 13).
The question arises, why these cherubim? The answer is that they are introduced for the same reason as the twenty-four elders, that is, to enhance the significance of the throne.[11] So great is the throne that even the all-glorious and holy cherubim arrange themselves around it in reverence, humility, and awe, ever ready to carry out the will of the Sovereign of the universe. They ascribe glory and honour and thanksgiving to the ever-living One who sits upon the throne. (See 7: 12.) They do this not once but again and again. They are constantly saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God the Almighty, who was and who is and who is coming.’ Thus these cherubim glorify God, the Father, who represents the Trinity. (Cf. Is. 6: 3.) No wonder, for they dwell in His immediate presence. They see His glory. They take notice of His wisdom and they see better than we do in this sinful world that history is the realization of His will. So they prostrate themselves in the act of worship (5: 8).
Now, on every occasion, their ‘Holy, holy, holy’, is immediately followed by the song of the elders. It is the song of praise to the Father Creator. These elders, symbolizing the entire host of the redeemed, fall down, in deep humility rendering divine homage (5: 14; 7: 11); they worship, do obeisance, and cast their crowns of victory before the throne, fully realizing that they owe their victory to the Lord on the throne, while they say, ‘Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honour and the power: for thou hast created all things and due to thy will they were and were created.’ (See Rev. 7: 12.) It is the song of creation. The sovereign will of Cod is the real and ultimate reason for the existence of all things. All creatures ‘were’, that is, they existed ideally in the mind of God from eternity. They ‘were created’, that is, their real existence followed their ideal existence in the mind of God.
3. The sealed scroll taken by the Lamb (5: 1–7)
‘And I saw on the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the outside, entirely sealed with seven seals.’
On the right hand of the Father lies a scroll (cf. 6: 14). It represents God’s eternal plan, His decree which is all-comprehensive. It symbolizes God’s purpose with respect to the entire universe throughout history, and concerning all creatures in all ages and to all eternity. It is full of writing on both sides.
This scroll is pictured as being entirely sealed with seven seals. These seals were probably arranged in a row on the outside of the scroll. Thus viewed, they sealed the scroll’s enclosure.[12] The meaning is this: the closed scroll indicates the plan of God unrevealed and unexecuted. If that scroll remains sealed God’s purposes are not realized; His plan is not carried out. To open that scroll by breaking the seals means not merely to reveal but to carry out God’s plan. Because of this, a strong angel proclaims with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll or to break its seals?’ The voice is loud and strong so that every creature in the entire universe may hear.
No-one in the entire universe—heaven, earth, under the earth—was able to open the scroll or even to look inside. As a result John weeps audibly.[13] You will understand the meaning of these tears if you constantly bear in mind that in this beautiful vision the opening of the scroll by breaking the seals indicates the execution of God’s plan. When the scroll is opened and the seals are broken, then the universe is governed in the interest of the Church. Then, God’s glorious, redemptive purpose is being realized; His plan is being carried out and the contents of the scroll come to pass in the history of the universe. But if the scroll is not opened it means that there will be no protection for God’s children in the hours of bitter trial; no judgments upon a persecuting world; no ultimate triumph for believers; no new heaven and earth; no future inheritance.
‘And one of the elders said to me: “Stop weeping; behold, he has conquered, namely, the Lion, the one out of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, to open the scroll and the seven seals thereof.” ’
It was now an elder’s turn to speak. Not a strong and mighty angel now but an elder, that is, one who himself had experienced the effects of redemption in his own soul; it is his turn to convey to John the wonderful message of cheer.
‘He has conquered.’ Christ has conquered sin on the cross. The great obstacle had been removed. The blood had been shed. The victory over sin, Satan, death, etc., had been achieved. Notice carefully the names given to the Christ. He is called ‘the Lion, the one out of the tribe of Judah’, a very clear reference to Genesis 49: 9, 10. In conquering Satan and bearing the full burden of the wrath of God to the uttermost he had proved Himself to be, indeed, the Lion. Yet He was also David’s Lord, the very Root to which David owed his origin (Mt. 22: 41–45).[14] On the cross this Lion of Judah, this Root of David, had conquered and had thereby earned the right to open the book and to break the seals, that is, to rule the universe in accordance with God’s plan.
‘And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living ones, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as having been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came, and has taken it out of the hand of him who was seated upon the throne.’
In the vision John sees... what? You expect ‘the Lion’. Instead, you read: ‘a Lamb’. Christ in His suffering and death showed the characteristics of both lion and lamb. He is the real Lion, the real Lamb. As a lamb He was led to the slaughter, sacrificed. The apostle sees this Lamb standing between the cherubim-encircled throne and the twenty-four elders. (See the diagram.) The Lamb (cf. Jn. 1: 29; Acts 8: 32; 1 Pet. 1: 19; Ex. 12: 3; Is. 53) stands ‘as having been slaughtered’. His death has abiding value. This Lamb, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, has seven horns, indicating His power and authority; and seven eyes, for He is filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Lamb came and took the scroll out of the hand of Him who was seated upon the throne. This very clearly refers to the fact that Christ, as Mediator, at His ascension received authority to rule the universe according to God’s eternal decree.[15] It refers to the coronation of the ascended Christ (Heb. 2: 8, 9); we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour. As a reward for His redemptive work, Christ, on ascending to heaven, received for Himself the kingdom (Lk. 19: 12; Heb. 2: 8, 9; Phil. 2: 6–11), as predicted and promised during the old dispensation (Pss. 2; 110; Dn. 7: 9–14).
This does not mean that God, the Father, leaves the throne. But it does mean that Christ, the Mediator, is seated upon the throne together with the Father. From this moment on it is the throne of God and of the Lamb (22: 1). God governs the universe through the Lamb. That is Christ’s reward and our comfort. It means that there is the beginning of a new era in heaven (20: 4); and also on earth (20: 2, 3).[16] A most significant moment in history is this coronation; the Mediator’s investiture with the office of King over the universe.
4. The adoration of the Lamb (5: 8–14)
No sooner has the Lamb taken the scroll, and thus accepted the office of King of the universe, than there is a great burst of triumph and exuberant joy in three doxologies.[17] Those nearest the throne lead off, namely, the cherubim and the twenty-four elders. They fall down before the Lamb, rendering divine worship. Each of the elders has a harp, an instrument of joyful music (18: 22), and golden bowls filled with incense, symbolizing prayer and thanksgiving in its most comprehensive sense. They sing a new song. It is new because never before had such a great and glorious deliverance been accomplished and never before had the Lamb received this great honour. The words of the song are these: ‘Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slaughtered, and didst purchase for God with thy blood men out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and didst make them for our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth.’[18] It is the song of redemption.
Here very definitely the Mediator’s present rule or dominion over the universe is described as being a reward for His suffering and death. Both the particular and universal aspects of the atonement are beautifully combined. The Lamb did not purchase the salvation of every single individual. No, He paid the price for His elect, that is, for men out of every tribe and tongue, etc. Yet, on the other hand, there is nothing narrow or national about this redemption. It is world-wide in its scope and embraces every group; ethnic (tribe), linguistic (tongue), political (people), and social (nation).[19] Together all the redeemed constitute a kingdom and priests. (See 1: 6.) By means of the incense of their prayers the saints even now reign upon the earth.
Just as the twenty-four elders form a circle around the four living ones, so in turn the angels surround the elders. (See the diagram.[20]) The term ‘angel’ does not include the cherubim here, nor in Revelation 7: 11. All other angels are meant. The apostle sees them as a very large host: myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. With a great voice they say, ‘Worthy is the Lamb, the slaughtered one, to receive the power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing’: seven excellences representing all virtues and excellences in heaven and on earth. (See 7: 11.) First the elders sing, for they have experienced salvation. Then the angels sing, for they have been instructed in the mysteries of redemption by the elders. (Cf. Eph. 3: 10.)
Finally (verse 13), the entire universe in all its parts and with all its creatures joins the chorus of praise. (See the diagram.) We have in this verse the climax of what is found in chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 relates to God and creation; chapter 5: 1–12, has reference to the Lamb and redemption. Hence, these last two verses, 5: 13, 14, relate to the conjoined glory and adoration of God and the Lamb.[21] All the universe praises God and the Lamb because of their work in creation and redemption.
The four cherubim were constantly saying ‘Amen’. After every ascription of praise by the rest of the universe, these four living ones say ‘Amen’. They place the seal of their, and God’s, approval upon this universal adoration. Also the elders fell down and worshipped, rendering divine homage not only to the triune God but also specifically to the Lamb. Most glorious antiphony!
Thus the entire universe is governed by the throne, that is, by God through the Lamb. When the Lamb ascended to heaven, He sat down at the right hand of God, ‘far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and he (God, the Father) put all things in subjection under his (Christ’s) feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that fills all in all’ (Eph. 1: 22, 23). All things ultimately must glorify God: His will is carried out in the universe. The throne rules. The Lamb reigns. As a result, believers need not fear in times of tribulation, persecution, and anguish.
5. The four riders and their horses (6: 1–8)
The seals described in chapter 6 are symbolic of such times of trouble and persecution. The Lamb has taken the scroll and immediately begins to open the seals. And each seal, when opened, releases its symbolism. The first four seals give rise to the symbolism of horses and their riders, just as in Zechariah 1: 8 ff.; 6: 1 ff. In Scripture the horse is generally mentioned in connection with the concepts of strength, terror, warfare, and conquest (see Is. 30: 16; 31: 1; Job 39: 22–28). In the Apocalypse we have the same association of ideas (9: 7; 14: 20; 19: 11).
Each of the four ‘living ones’ takes his turn in introducing a horseman. As with a voice of thunder he says, ‘Be going.’ The call, in each case, is addressed to the rider.
a. The white horse. ‘And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and the one sitting upon it having a bow; and there was given to him a crown: and he went out conquering and to conquer.’ We agree with the view of many eminent interpreters who regard the rider upon the white horse as symbolizing the Christ. We have arrived at this conclusion after very careful study and on the basis of the following considerations.
First of all, this view is in harmony with the context. Remember that in the first three chapters we saw the Christ-indwelt Church shining in the midst of the world. You recall, no doubt, the very vivid portrayal of the Son of man revealing His presence among the lampstands (1: 13 ff.). Whenever Christ appears, Satan becomes busy: trials are in store for God’s children. In the section which we are studying, chapters 4–7, we have already seen this same Christ pictured as the Lamb who takes the scroll of God’s decree and opens the seals. Concerning this Lamb we read: ‘Behold, he has conquered, namely, the Lion, the one out of the tribe of Judah...’
This was stated in 5: 5. The rest of that chapter contains the description of the adoration of the Lamb. Now chapter 6 opens with the symbolism of the rider who went out ‘conquering and to conquer’. Does not the conclusion seem warranted that in both chapters the ‘Conqueror’ is the same person?
Secondly, this view is in harmony with a careful word-study.
(i) This horse is ‘white’. The colour ‘white’ is always associated with that which is holy and heavenly. Think of the white garments, white cloud, white throne, white stone, etc. It is certain, therefore, that the rider upon the white horse cannot be the devil or the antichrist.[22]
(ii) The rider receives a crown. This harmonizes well with 14: 14, where we read that Christ was wearing a crown of gold.
(iii) Finally, wherever in this book the word ‘conquer’ occurs—with two exceptions[23]—it refers either to Christ or to believers. The two nearest passages to the one which we are now considering are Revelation 3: 21b and 5: 5. In both of these cases this conquering is predicated of Christ. Then in his Gospel the apostle John uses the word just once (16: 33), and here again it refers to Christ. Let us quote these four passages under each other:
John 16: 33: ‘In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have conquered the world.’
Revelation 3: 21b: ‘as I also conquered, and sat down with my Father in his throne.’
Revelation 5: 5: ‘Behold, he has conquered, the Lion, the one out of the tribe of Judah.’
Revelation 6: 2: ‘and he went forth conquering and to conquer.’ Meditate on this exalted phrase. We feel sure that, had you never heard another interpretation, you would at once have said: ‘ This is the conquering Christ.’
Thirdly, this interpretation is demanded by the parallel passage in the book of Revelation itself. In Revelation 19: 11 we have another instance of a rider upon a white horse. In that passage we are definitely told that rider is the Christ, the Word of God, Faithful and True. His name is ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’. Excellent commentators have felt that it is entirely impossible to escape the strength of this argument.[24] To say that the rider on the white horse in 19: 11 ff. must be another than the rider on the white horse in 6: 2 because the details in the two descriptions differ misses the point! We expect the details to differ somewhat. That does not argue against our view but corroborates our position. In Revelation 5: 5 we read that Christ ‘has conquered’. This refers to the accomplished redemption on the cross of Golgotha. In 6: 2 the rider on the white horse is introduced as ‘conquering and to conquer’. That conquest is being carried on at present. In 19: 13 the rider upon the white horse is described as clothed with a garment ‘sprinkled with blood’, that is, the blood of His enemies. Thus, He is going to conquer in the great day of judgment. Thus also we are told that He now wears a crown (6: 2). By and by He will have on His head ‘many diadems’ (19: 12), for He will have conquered many. Frankly, we do not see how anyone is justified in saying that the rider on the white horse in 6: 2 means one thing, and in 19: 11 ff. something else. Why not permit the Apocalypse to explain its own symbolism?
Fourthly, the idea that the Conqueror upon the white horse is the Christ is in harmony with the very genius and purpose of the book of Revelation. We have indicated that the very theme of this book is the victory of Christ and of His Church. Thus, again and again our Lord Jesus Christ is represented as the One who has conquered, is conquering, shall conquer. (Read carefully the following passages: Rev. 1: 13 ff.; 2: 26, 27; 3: 21; 5: 5; 6: 16; 11: 15; 12: 11; 14: 1 ff.; 14: 14 ff.; 17: 14; 19: 11.) The idea of the conquering Christ is as a thread running through this book from beginning to end. If anyone should hesitate to believe this, let him read and study the references which we have just given.
Out of all these references we select just one for quotation in full, namely, 17: 14: ‘These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they also shall conquer that are with him, called and chosen and faithful.’[25]
Therefore, when we say that in 6: 2 the rider upon the white horse is the Christ, we are simply expressing an idea which is in harmony with the entire book.
Fifthly, the view that the rider on the white horse in 6: 2 is the Christ is in harmony with what is found in Matthew 10: 34. Just as in that passage it is Christ who brings the sword, so that Christ and sword follow one another, so here in Revelation 6: 2, 3 the rider on the white horse is followed by the rider on the red horse who receives a sword.[26]
Sixthly, this interpretation is strongly supported by its parallel in Psalm 45: 3–5:
‘Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one!
Thy glory and thy majesty!
And in thy majesty ride on prosperously
In behalf of truth and meekness and righteousness!
And let thy right hand teach thee terrible things!
Thine arrows sharpened! Nations under thy feet!’
The LXX has ‘And in thy majesty ride, and bend the bow, and prosper and reign...’
Notice the striking similarities. Revelation 6: 2 pictures the rider going forth conquering and to conquer; so does Psalm 45 (‘in thy majesty ride on prosperously’). Revelation 6: 2 tells us that the rider was equipped with a bow; so does Psalm 45 (in the LXX translation). But does Psalm 45 refer to Christ? On this point there can be no doubt. Scripture itself quotes part of the description of the rider of Psalm 45 and tells us that this refers to ‘the Son’ (Heb. 1: 8).
We see, therefore, that the Old Testament—and remember that the Apocalypse is immersed in the symbolism of the Old Testament[27]—pictures the Messiah, equipped with bow (cf. Rev. 6: 2) and sword (cf. Rev. 19: 15), riding forth prosperously. Then, why not grant that here, in Revelation 6: 2, the rider on the white horse refers to the same exalted Person?[28]
Seventhly, another parallel passage which may be cited in support of our view is Zechariah 1: 8 ff. The identification of the rider upon the first horse in Zechariah’s vision with the Christ is not improbable. (Cf. also Hab. 3: 8, 9; Is. 41: 2.)
Our Lord Jesus Christ is conquering now; that is, throughout this present dispensation His cause is going forward, for He is exercising both His spiritual and His universal Kingship. By means of the Word (gospel: Mt. 24: 14) and the Spirit, the testimonies and the tears of His disciples, His own intercession and their prayers, the angels of heaven and armies on earth, the trumpets of judgment and the bowls of wrath, our Lord is riding forth victoriously, conquering and to conquer. That, in all probability, is the meaning of the rider on the white horse.[29]
Now the other horses and other riders are introduced. Let us be careful in our interpretation of the meaning of these symbols. A very popular method of interpreting the symbolism of the four horses of the Apocalypse consists in placing in parallel columns Revelation 6 and Matthew 24.[30] Matthew 24 is then viewed as a complete commentary on Revelation 6! It is all so very simple, but perhaps it is too simple. Certainly there are striking similarities between Matthew 24 and Revelation 6, but there are also dissimilarities.[31] Let us remember that the symbolism of the Apocalypse is rooted in the Old Testament.[32] For the symbolism of the horses and their riders such passages as Ezekiel 5: 17; 14: 21; Zechariah 1: 8 ff., come into consideration.
Now what do we learn from these Old Testament passages that could be useful in explaining the meaning of Revelation 6?
In Ezekiel the one who afflicts Judah is Babylon. But Babylon, in turn, is an instrument in the hand of Jehovah who sends trials in order to purify Jerusalem and to sanctify His people. (See especially Ezk. 11: 19; 33: 11.) Similarly, in Zechariah the second, third and fourth riders are associated with the first: they are in his service.
Possibly the same thing holds with respect to the riders described in Revelation 6. On the basis of the Old Testament passages it would not surprise us if here, too, the second, third and fourth riders are subservient to the first: Christ’s instruments for the refining and strengthening of His people. True, it is the wicked world that is persecuting the Church.[33] But that world, in turn, is but an instrument in the hand of the One who has taken the scroll. So Satan is foiled by his own weapons; that which was intended as a means of extermination becomes a means of strengthening the Church, an instrument for the furtherance of the kingdom of God and the salvation of His people.[34]
We turn next to Christ’s eschatological discourse, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. Although these chapters do not furnish a complete and simple explanation of Revelation 6, they should be taken into account. Anyone who reads this discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ immediately observes that among the signs that herald the second coming there are some that have reference to mankind in general, others that more directly concern believers. (See Mt. 24: 6–10; Mk. 13: 7–9.) Let us quote Luke 21: 10–13.
(i) Signs that have reference to mankind in general: ‘Then he continued to say to them: there shall rise nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom; both earthquakes great and in divers places famines and pestilences there shall be’, etc.
(ii) Signs that more directly concern believers: ‘But before all these things they shall lay their hands on you and shall persecute, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, being led before kings and governois for my name’s sake.’
Although even the woes which belong to the first group and which believers experience along with the rest of humanity are here predicted from the aspect of their significance for believers, the distinction between the two groups is still clear.
If the symbolism of Revelation 6 should reveal a similar distinction so that, let us say, the second and third riders describe particularly what happens to believers because they remain loyal to their Lord, while the fourth rider discloses what God’s children experience along with the rest of the world, this would not surprise us. If Revelation 6 has anything to do with Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, we more or less expect this distinction.
b. The red horse. Having now studied the passages which constitute a background for Revelation 6, let us direct our attention to the second horse and its rider. The second ‘living one’ tells the second rider to be going. ‘So another horse went out, red (or fiery) in appearance. And to the one who was sitting thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slaughter one another: and there was given to him a great short-sword (machaira).’
We believe that this horse and its rider refers to religious persecution of God’s children rather than to war between nations; to slaughter and sacrifice rather than to warfare. Believers are slaughtered ‘for his name’s sake’. It belongs to the category of signs that more directly concern believers: their persecution by the world. We submit the following arguments in favour of this view.
First of all, this explanation is in striking accord with the immediate context. The second horse follows the first; that is, wherever Christ by His gospel, Spirit, etc., makes His entrance, there the sword of persecution follows. This passage is also in accord with Revelation 10: 9.
Secondly, this view is confirmed by the parallel passage, Matthew 10: 34: ‘I came not to send peace, but a sword (machaira). For I come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother... And he that does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.’[35]
Thirdly, it must not escape our attention that we read in our passage: ‘that they should slaughter one another’. This is not the ordinary term which John uses to indicate the act of killing or warfare. Everywhere else in the writings of the apostle John, with only one exception (Rev. 13: 3), this term refers to the death of Christ or the execution of believers. Here are all the passages in which John uses the word, which in its verbal form is peculiar to John. ‘Cain... slaughtered his brother’ (1 Jn. 3: 12): here it is a child of God (Abel) who is said to have been slaughtered or butchered. ‘... A Lamb standing, as having been slaughtered’ (Rev. 5: 6): here it is Christ as a sacrifice for sin. ‘... For thou was slaughtered...’ (Rev. 5: 9): this, again, refers to Christ. ‘Worthy is the Lamb that has been slaughtered’ (Rev. 5: 12): the reference is clearly to Christ. ‘The souls of those who have been slaughtered for the Word of God’ (Rev. 6: 9): here the word refers to believers. ‘The Lamb that has been slaughtered’ (Rev. 13: 8): the reference is to Christ. ‘And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and all who have been slaughtered upon the earth’ (Rev. 18: 24): the reference, clearly, is to believers.
However, in Revelation 13: 3 the ‘slaughtered head’ belongs to the beast, which arrogates to itself the honour and power belonging to Christ.
Thus it is not improbable that in the only remaining passage also, the one which we are discussing (Rev. 6: 4), the primary reference is to believers. Religious persecution seems to be the point, not warfare in general.
Fourthly, we read that when the fifth seal is opened John sees ‘the souls of those who have been slaughtered for the Word of God’. As already indicated, exactly the same word ‘slaughtered’ is used in the original. But here we are definitely told that those who were slaughtered are believers. They were slaughtered for the Word of God. Does it not seem reasonable to suppose that those who under the second seal are seen as being slaughtered are the same as those who under the fifth seal are described as having been slaughtered?
Fifthly, we read: ‘there was given to him a great short-sword (machaira).’ The term machaira is used in a very wide sense, as any study of Scripture with the aid of a concordance will reveal. Yet it signifies strictly the sacrificial knife,[36] the natural instrument of the slaughter mentioned. It is the word used in the LXX of Genesis 22: 6, 10, in the story of Isaac’s sacrifice, where also we find the word ‘to slaughter, to sacrifice’.[37]
Finally, let us constantly bear in mind that the Lord Jesus Christ in this book is speaking to believers who, when this vision was first revealed, were being persecuted to death. The slaughter of believers was their immediate problem; that, more than warfare in general.
Wherever the rider on the white horse—the Christ—makes His appearance, the rider on the red horse follows. (See Mt. 5: 10, 11; Lk. 21: 12; Acts 4: 1; 5: 17, etc.) Think of Stephen and Paul, Publius and Polycarp, Perpetua and Felicitas, the Inquisition and St. Bartholomew’s night, Armenia and Russia, John and Betty Stam.[38] The rider on the red horse does not refer to one definite person. He does not belong to one particular age. No century is without its rider upon the red horse: the world is always persecuting the Church. Christ always brings the sword. Peace is taken from the earth (Mt. 10: 34).
Yet, praise God! the sacrificial knife or short-sword is ‘given’ to this rider. All things are in the hands of God. The Lamb reigns.
c. The black horse. The third ‘living one’ addresses the third rider, saying, ‘Be going’, and he goes out upon his black horse. This rider has in his hand a balance, that is, a pair of scales (cf. Ezk. 4: 10). To eat bread by weight refers to a condition of economic hardship. A voice comes from somewhere among the four living ones saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius...’ In other words, a whole day’s wages for a quantity of wheat that will last one person just one day (cf. Mt. 20: 2). At this rate a man could support himself, but what about his family? True, he could buy barley, the coarser food, at one-third the price and thus provide for his family. But is food all a family needs? What about all the other necessities? When such prices prevail it becomes very difficult for a person to make both ends meet. It is not famine, as such, that is indicated here; for these prices, though high, are by no means famine prices.[39] Besides, one can get all the wheat he wants, provided he has the money to pay for it! But that is exactly the point. How can a man who is earning very little provide for his family when prices are so high? A certain class of people is going to be hard-pressed. By and by we shall learn just what group of people is indicated.
The voice continues: ‘And the oil and the wine do not damage.’ Oil and wine, representing all the comforts of life, are in plentiful supply! But they are utterly beyond the reach of the man who is making hardly enough to provide coarse food for his family. Now we have the entire picture: we see the rich enjoying their food in abundance and all the comforts of life besides. But the poor have hardly enough to keep body and soul together.
The question arises, when the seer refers to these poor people who are hard-pressed, of whom is he thinking? The answer is obvious. That believers were poor, lacking the comforts which others enjoyed, is very clear from the book of Revelation. The first readers would immediately understand this symbol. From the Apocalypse itself we receive the following information with respect to the economic conditions prevailing in the Church at that time.
We learn, first of all, that one could hardly remain a member of his trade-guild without sacrificing his religious principles and convictions.[40] And if a person did withdraw from such an organization? It requires very little imagination to realize that the result of such withdrawal would be material loss and physical suffering.
Then, too, we learn that anyone who did not have ‘the mark of the beast’ was unable to buy or to sell (see Rev. 13: 17).
Has not this been true throughout the ages? Is it not a principle of human conduct to oppress believers and to cause them to suffer physical want? How often have the children of God been crowded out of their job, business, or profession, because they insisted on being true to their convictions? A man, for example, refuses to work on the Lord’s Day and is dismissed. As a result he is forced to take another job with lower wages. He has a family to support. It would be vain to look for any comforts or luxuries in his home. Another, for reasons of conscience, refuses to join a labour organization that adheres to a policy of violence, with the result that he, too, loses his job. The rich oppressor, meanwhile, has abundance. No-one damages his wine and oil.
The second and third riders belong together. Both describe the persecution of the people of God. Some believers are slaughtered. Their blood is poured out. These are the martyrs in the more restricted sense of that term. The second (red) horse and its rider describes them. But not all believers suffer actual martyrdom in that sense. Yet, in a broader sense, the others too, are martyrs. They suffer poverty and hardship (cf. 1 Cor. 1: 26). The black horse and its rider may be seen in their mission of woe spreading oppression, injustice, and economic hardship throughout the centuries of the Church’s existence.
But this form of persecution is also an instrument in the hand of Christ for the furtherance of His kingdom. The hard-pressed individual feels his dependence on God.
Thus, the second and the third riders describe those woes which in a very special manner affect believers. They symbolize that throughout the entire dispensation the world will persecute the Church in every conceivable way. Let us remember that the two forms of persecution here mentioned, namely slaughter and injustice or economic hardship, represent all forms.
d. The pale horse. But are these the only trials through which the Church must pass on its way to eternal glory? Not so. Just as in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 there is mention of a second group of tribulations, so here. There are woes which the believer suffers along with the world, for the simple reason that he is in the world. To that class of trials the fourth horse and its rider call our attention.
The fourth seal is opened. The fourth living creature says, ‘Be going’. Now a livid or greenish horse is seen.[41] It is a horse with a very sickly gruesome colour, symbolical of disease and death. Above[42] this horse sits a rider whose name is the Death. Death in general is meant; yes, death in its most universal form, for the instruments of death here mentioned affect both believers and unbelievers. Trotting behind Death, as always, is Hades.[43] Death cuts down, and Hades—symbolizing the state of disembodied existence—gathers the slain.[44] Yet Death and Hades cannot do as they please. They can do nothing beyond what is allowed by the divine permission. This is emphasized for the consolation of believers. We read that authority is given to Death and Hades. Their sphere of activity, moreover, is very definitely restricted. Although the territory is very large, the fourth part of the earth, yet its bounds have been definitely determined in the divine decree which is carried out by the Lamb. It is the fourth part, no more!
Unto them is given authority to kill ‘with the sword, famine (or hunger), pestilence (or death), and by the wild beasts of the earth’. These are four woes which have not been described under the second and third seals. This passage is very definitely rooted in Ezekiel 14: 21. Notice the very close resemblance: ‘But thus says the Lord Jehovah, Even though I should send against Jerusalem my four deadly judgments: the sword and hunger and the wild beasts and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast, nevertheless, there shall be left a remnant in it...’ Here (Rev. 6: 8) the same four woes are mentioned in almost the same order.
First, to kill with the sword is mentioned. Here we do not read ‘to slaughter’ as in the second seal, but ‘to kill’. Also the term translated ‘sword’ is different. It is not the machaira but the rhomphaia. It is not the sacrificial knife or short-sword but the long and heavy great-sword, like the one with which David cut off Goliath’s head. In the LXX translation of Ezekiel 14: 21 we find the same word (rhomphaia) as is used here in Revelation 6: 8. Here is war! Those commentators who hold that the second horse and its rider refer to war get into difficulties when they come to explain the fourth horse. And if, in addition, they have interpreted the third seal as indicating famine, then they are entirely at a loss what to do with the fourth seal which also indicates famine. They seek a way out of their difficulty by teaching either that the woes of the second and third seals are repeated under the fourth—a rather unlikely and unintelligible repetition—or that much of what is described under the fourth seal is an interpolation.[45] This, of course, is a very convenient way of dispatching a problem. Blame it on the scribe!
Careful study reveals, however, that these four seals indicate types of woes that are easily distinguishable. The fourth seal, moreover, describes four[46] universal woes. They are viewed here from the aspect of their significance for the Church. War, not just one particular war but war between nations wherever and whenever it occurs throughout the entire dispensation is mentioned first. That the sword (rhomphaia) refers to warfare is clear on the basis of Revelation 2: 16; 19: 21.
Next, hunger or famine is mentioned. This, too, is a very general woe, often mentioned in the Bible. When a city is besieged in time of war, famine often follows.
Famine, in turn, is often followed by or associated with pestilence. Pestilence, both here and in the LXX translation of Ezekiel 14: 21, is called ‘death’. Just as even today we call it the Black Death. As it is here mentioned in connection with famine, it is probable that pestilence proper, the bubonic Plague, is meant.[47] Anyone who is interested in a fascinating description of what we consider to be the bubonic Plague should read 1 Samuel 5–7.[48] For the very close connection between famine and pestilence see Jeremiah 21: 6–9; Luke 21: 11.
Finally, just as in Ezekiel, so here the wild beasts are mentioned. (See 2 Ki. 17: 25.) These wild beasts, also, do not distinguish between believers and unbelievers. They tear to pieces and devour whatever they can seize, whether in or outside the Roman amphitheatres.
Thus all four—warfare, famine, pestilence, wild beasts—are general in character. These four, moreover, are symbolical of all universal woes which believers suffer along with the rest of humanity throughout the entire dispensation. Yet, with respect to the Church, these woes have a very specific meaning. Our Lord Jesus Christ uses these woes as instruments, for the sanctification of His Church and the extension of His kingdom.[49]
We have reached the following conclusion with respect to the meaning of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse:
The rider on the white horse is our Lord Jesus Christ.
The rider on the red horse represents slaughter.
The rider on the black horse represents economic hardship and poverty due to injustice.
The second and the third seals symbolize the direct persecution of the Church by the world.
The rider on the livid horse represents Death, the sword (warfare), famine, pestilence, wild beasts. These are the common woes of humanity described here from the aspect of their effect upon the kingdom of God.
6. The cry of the martyrs (6: 9–11)
‘And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those that had been slaughtered for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the Holy and Genuine One, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those dwelling on the earth?’
Do not forget that what John sees is not heaven or the universe itself but a symbolic vision. In this vision the apostle beholds the altar, which here appears as the altar of burnt-offering at the base of which the blood of slaughtered animals had to be poured out (Lv. 4: 7). Underneath this altar John sees the blood of the slaughtered saints. He saw their souls, for ‘the soul is in the blood’ (Lv. 17: 11). They had offered their lives as a sacrifice, having clung tenaciously to the testimony which they had received concerning the Christ and salvation in Him. These are the souls which under the second seal were being slaughtered.[50] These souls are crying for vengeance on those who have slaughtered them.
The question arises, how can we harmonize this cry for judgment and vengeance with Christ’s prayer for His enemies (Lk. 23: 34) and with Stephen’s prayer of ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge’? We answer, these martyrs do not invoke retribution for their own sake but for God’s sake. These saints have been slaughtered because they placed their trust and confidence in God. In slaughtering them, the world has scorned Him! Does not God Himself affirm that the blood of His saints cries for wrath? (Gn. 4: 10; cf. Heb. 11: 4.) Insignificant individuals, mere earth-dwellers, have defied the holy, true, and sovereign Lord of the universe. They have challenged His attributes. Unless full retribution be rendered, God’s righteousness and sovereignty will not shine forth in its full and perfect lustre. No, the saint in glory does not desire personal vengeance any more than did Stephen, but he yearns for the coming of that great day when the majesty and holiness, the sovereignty and righteousness of God in Christ shall be publicly revealed.
To each of these slaughtered ones a white, flowing robe is given, symbolizing righteousness, holiness, and festivity. To them is given the assurance that their prayers will be answered but the time for the judgment day has not yet arrived. Thus these souls of the martyrs must enjoy their heavenly repose ‘for a little time’ until every elect one has been brought into the fold and the number of the martyrs is full. God knows the exact number. It has been fixed from eternity in His decree. Until that number has been realized on earth the day of final judgment cannot come.
7. The final judgment (6: 12–17)
The sixth seal, accordingly, introduces[51] the judgment day. It describes the one great catastrophe at the end of this age. The dread and terror, the awe and consternation of that day is pictured under the twofold symbolism of a crashing universe and a thoroughly frightened human race.
The terror of that great day refers, of course, only to the wicked. But whereas believers are going to be few in number at the time of the second coming (Lk. 18: 8), we can say that the world in general is seized with alarm. In this connection it is interesting to observe that this final outpouring of the divine wrath upon mankind is described under the sixth seal—six, or rather six hundred and sixty-six, being the number of man (Rev. 13: 18)—and is represented as affecting six objects of creation; and as distributed among six classes of men.[52]
Notice the six objects that are enumerated in this symbolic description of the terror of the judgment day.
First, there is a great earthquake (cf. especially Ezk. 38: 19; Joel 2: 10; Am. 8: 8; Mt. 24: 29). Picture it to yourself: the earth rising and falling in rapid waves, as an indication of God’s power and anger.
Then, in connection with this earthquake, the sun turns black as sackcloth and the full moon becomes as blood. The darkening of the sky often accompanies earthquakes; yet, more than that is intended by this symbolic description. This is not a mere darkening or even an eclipse, for the very light of the sun is blotted out and the moon assumes the colour of blood. In the picture which John sees this is all very real. We must be careful, however, in arriving at conclusions. Let us take the picture as a whole.[53] We have no right, on the basis of this description, to draw conclusions with respect to the exact changes that will take place in the heavenly bodies at the end of this present age. What we have here is a symbolic picture of the terror of the judgment day. The symbol, taken as a whole, teaches just one lesson, namely, that the final and complete effusion of God’s wrath upon a world that has persecuted the Church will be terrible indeed.
Three objects have now been mentioned, namely, earthquake, sun, and moon. The fourth is the stars of the heaven falling to the earth, as a fig-tree casts her winter figs when shaken by a violent wind. No doubt John had often seen those winter figs hidden under the leaves until they dry up and come down in showers when a violent wind shakes the trees. In similar showers the stars are seen falling out of their orbits. They fall to the earth. Not comets, or meteors, but stars. You say: how is this possible? The earth is altogether too small for even a single star to fall upon it. Again, we remind you that this is a picture. In pictures things are possible which are not possible in reality. When we say this, we do not deny, of course, that there will be a most thorough-going dislocation of the heavenly bodies and a rejuvenation of the universe, in connection with the end of this present age. Scripture very clearly teaches this (2 Pet. 3: 10, 12, etc.). Neither do we at all deny that also our present passage refers to this fact (cf. Mt. 24: 39). But the main point of our passage is this: it stresses the terror of the day of wrath for the wicked. The dissolving elements, earthquake, falling stars, etc., add terror to the picture.
In this very vivid and awe-inspiring picture John sees heaven itself curled up like a piece of paper (cf. Is. 34: 4). The sixth and last object mentioned is ‘every mountain and island’. These mountains and islands completely disappear, being moved out of their place.
Again, try to visualize what John saw, taking the picture as a whole: heaven itself curling up like a piece of paper, rolling up like a scroll; the sun, its light blotted out so that it resembles a black sack used in mourning; the big, full moon, a huge, awe-inspiring bloody ball; the stars, turned out of their orbits and plunging to the earth in great showers; the earth itself quaking violently so that every house crashes to the ground; and every mountain and island suddenly disappearing. What a picture of dread and despair, of confusion and consternation—for the wicked!
Notice now the six classes of mankind upon whom this terror falls.
First, the kings of the earth, the dictators and supreme political rulers of this earth. Second, the princes, those next in authority to the kings. Thirdly, the officers, the military dictators and generals. Fourthly, the rich men, the leaders in commerce and industry. These are the capitalists, the money magnates. Fifthly, the strong men, those who exert a powerful influence in any realm, whether physical or educational. Lastly, every slave and freeman, the entire lower classes, consisting of those who were still serving as slaves or those who had been released from bondage.
Thus, under the symbolism of these six classes, John sees the entire godless world seized with sudden fear. He sees them terror-stricken and fleeing, fleeing from something far more terrible than crumbling mountains and falling rocks. They even seek safety in death itself. If only death would come to them—John hears shrieks of agony uttered by thousands of voices. Kings and slaves, princes and servants, they are all caught in the same self-inflicted agony of despair. The dreadful wail is heard: ‘Mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of the One sitting on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For it came, the day, the great one, of their wrath, and who is able to stand?’ The door of grace is closed for ever once that day has arrived!
But although final and complete retribution will not be rendered until the judgment day, even now during this present age judgments are sent upon the earth because the wicked persecute God’s children. Throughout history the seals of persecution give rise to the trumpets of judgment. That is a principle in the divine moral government of this world. We should read the events of the day in the light of this principle.
8. The sealed multitude (7: 1–17)
These trumpets of judgment which arise out of the seventh seal are described in chapters 8 and 9. But even at the beginning of chapter 7 everything seems to be ready for the execution of these judgments. Then, why do they not fall upon the unbelievers? All is in readiness: the winds of woe are about to set out on their mission of destruction; the four angels—four because they control the agencies of destruction throughout the earth, in every direction, north, south, east, and west—are all prepared for their task of afflicting the earth and the sea (Rev. 7: 2). Then suddenly, dramatically, John sees another angel ascending from the east. He has the seal of the living God. He cries to the four angels who are controlling or holding in check the four winds of judgment. In a loud voice he tells them, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees till we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.’
These woes are punishments for the wicked, persecuting world. They are not going to hurt you, if the seal of God is on your forehead. The Lord has laid on Christ the iniquity of all the believers (Is. 53: 6). Rest assured that ‘to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose’ (Rom. 8: 28).
This sealing is the most precious thing under heaven. Scripture speaks of the seal in a threefold sense. First of all, a seal protects against tampering. Thus, the tomb of Jesus was sealed with a guard (Mt. 27: 66; cf. Rev. 5: 1). Secondly, a seal marks ownership. Thus, we read in the Song of Solomon 8: 6: ‘Set me as a seal upon thy heart.’ Thirdly, a seal certifies genuine character. The decree that all the Jews should be wiped out was sealed with the signet of King Xerxes (Est. 3: 12).
The Christian is sealed in this threefold sense. The Father has sealed him, for the believer enjoys the Father’s protection throughout life. The Son has sealed him, for He had bought and redeemed the believer with His own precious blood. He owns us. The Spirit had sealed him (Eph. 1: 13), for He certifies that we are sons of God (Rom. 8: 15).
In the passage which we are discussing the emphasis is on ownership and consequent protection. Notice that the sons of God are sealed ‘on their foreheads’. In chapter 14 we again meet this same sealed multitude, the 144,000. There we read that they have on their foreheads the name of the Lamb and the name of the Father. That name, in all probability, is the seal.[54] (Cf. also Rev. 22: 4.)
John hears the number of the sealed. He does not see their exact number for these sealed ones are still on earth. Only God knows how many truly sealed people there are on earth. The number is 144,000. This, of course, is symbolical. First, the number three, indicating the Trinity, is multiplied by four, indicating the entire creation, for the sealed ones shall come from the east and the west, the north and the south. Three times four makes twelve. This number therefore indicates: the Trinity (3) operating in the universe (4).[55] When the Father through the Son in the Spirit performs His saving work on earth—the divine (3) operating in the universe (4)—we see in the old dispensation the twelve (3×4) patriarchs and in the new the twelve apostles. In order to arrive at the conception of the Church of the old and of the new dispensation we shall have to multiply this twelve by twelve. This gives us 144.
Entirely in harmony with this representation we read in Revelation 21 that the holy city Jerusalem has twelve gates and twelve foundations. On these twelve gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the twelve foundations were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (21: 9–14). We also read that the wall is 144 cubits in height (21: 17).
It is very clear, therefore, that the sealed multitude of Revelation 7 symbolizes the entire Church militant of the old and new dispensations. In order to emphasize the fact that not a small portion of the Church is meant but the entire Church militant, this number 144 is multiplied by one thousand. One thousand is 10 × 10 × 10, which indicates a perfect cube, reduplicated completeness.[56] (See Rev. 21: 16.) The 144,000 sealed individuals out of the twelve tribes of literal Israel symbolize spiritual Israel, the Church of God on earth.
To say that the symbol ultimately indicates Israel according to the flesh is wrong. The apostle certainly knew that ten of the twelve tribes had disappeared in Assyria, at least to a great extent; while Judah and Benjamin had lost their national existence when Jerusalem fell, in AD 70. Besides, if Israel according to the flesh were meant, why should Ephraim and Dan be omitted? Surely not all the people in the tribe of Dan were lost. Again, notice the order in which the tribes are arranged. Not Reuben but Judah is mentioned first. Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah (Gn. 49: 10). Even the fact that exactly twelve thousand are sealed out of every tribe—harmony in the midst of variety—should be sufficient to indicate that we are dealing with a symbol, as already indicated. As to the meaning of this symbol, we are not left in the dark. In the first place, the very number, being the product of one hundred and forty-four and one thousand, is fully explained in Revelation 21 as we have shown. According to that chapter it must indicate the Church of the old and new dispensations. Besides, in chapter 14 we again see this same multitude, the 144,000. Here we are plainly told that they are those who have been purchased out of the earth. They represent those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and the entire Church militant, therefore, as is also clearly taught in Revelation 22: 4.[57] Christ, having purchased them by His own precious blood, owns them, and the Father (through Christ, in the Spirit) protects them. Let the winds blow; they will not harm God’s people. Let the judgments come; they will not hurt His elect!
After these things John beholds the most glorious vision of all. It is the Church triumphant as in eternity it shall dwell for ever in the immediate presence of God and His throne. It is a great multitude which no man could number, although the exact number is known to the Lord (2 Tim. 2: 19). They were gathered out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues.[58] It is clear that God’s elect out of the people of the Jews are included: both Gentiles and Jews are represented. They stand before the throne and the Lamb who is now seated upon the throne (Rev. 5: 7). To stand before the throne and the Lamb means to have fellowship with, to render service to, and to share in the honour of the Lamb. The countless multitude is clothed around with white, flowing robes. The flowing robes indicate festivity, blessedness; their whiteness symbolizes righteousness, holiness (cf. 7: 14). John sees the blessed with palms in their hands. These palms indicate salvation (Jn. 12: 13). Accordingly, this immense multitude is heard crying with a great voice:
‘Our salvation is the work of God, the One sitting on the throne, and of the Lamb.’ Literally we read ‘the’ salvation, not salvation in general but that very definite salvation (from sin and all its consequences) which these redeemed are now enjoying. They ascribe this work of salvation to God and to the Lamb and not to their own wisdom or goodness. Similarly, we sing:
‘Thou art, O God, our boast, the glory of our power;
Thy sovereign grace is e’er our fortress and our tower.
We lift our heads aloft, for God, our shield, is o’er us;
Through Him, through Him alone, whose presence goes before us,
We’ll wear the victor’s crown, no more by foes assaulted,
We’ll triumph through our King, by Israel’s God exalted.’
The angels surround this redeemed multitude. (See the diagram on p. 83.) They render homage to God, and in a double Amen and a seven-fold ascription of praise (7: 12)[59] they testify their agreement with the adoration of the Church triumphant (cf. 5: 11). ‘And there answered one out of the elders, saying to me: “These, the ones clothed around with the flowing robes, the white ones, who are they, and where do they come from?” And I said to him: “My lord, thou knowest.” ’
Now it is an elder who speaks (7: 13; cf. 5: 5). It is one who knows by experience the meaning of salvation. He asks John a question, not in order that the apostle may inform him, but in order to rivet John’s attention upon that countless multitude; especially, upon that amazing miracle, namely, that all these individuals who once were sinners are now righteous and holy, clothed around with white, flowing robes. The apostle, by saying, ‘My lord, thou knowest’, indicates that he desires to hear the explanation of this great miracle.
The explanation given by the elder, in a most sublime and beautiful manner, closes this section, chapters 4–7. Constantly bear in mind that this section has as its theme, the Church in tribulation. We have seen the red horse of slaughter, the black horse of poverty and injustice, the livid horse of Death. We have heard the cries of the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. It has become clear that all these trials are controlled by the One who is sitting upon the throne. Now, in addition, it is made clear to us that the Church does not remain in the tribulation. The countless multitude is composed of individuals who come ‘out of’ the great tribulation. We read ‘And he said to me: “These are the ones coming out of the tribulation, the great one, and they have washed their flowing robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and they worship him by day and by night in his sanctuary, and the One sitting on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun fall upon them nor any heat, for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd and shall lead them to life’s springs of waters and God shall wipe away every tear out of their eyes.” ’
The elder tells John that these people who are clothed around with the white flowing robes come out of ‘the tribulation, the great one’. This one tribulation is great because it is all-inclusive: all the persecutions and trials of God’s people, symbolized by the seals, are included in it. That gives unity to this entire section, chapters 4–7. The point is that the saints come out of their trials. The Dutch have a term for ‘dying’ which literally means ‘to get over (or beyond) suffering’. It expresses the truth whenever a believer dies.
These saints whom John, in the vision, beholds, have washed their flowing robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb (cf. 1 Jn. 1: 7; Heb. 9: 14). In other words, they have placed all their trust in the saving blood of Jesus Christ. This blood, representing the complete atonement which our Lord has rendered, has cleansed them of the guilt and the pollution of sin. By means of the red blood of Christ they have been made white.
Therefore are they before the throne of God. Only those who have placed their confidence in Christ and His atonement appear before the throne. They worship Him; that is, they render to Him the spontaneous, glad, and thorough devotion of the heart. It is an unceasing worship. These redeemed saints in glory, moreover, experience the sweetest, fullest, and most intimate fellowship with God through Christ; they worship Him in His sanctuary, that is, in His immediate presence. The One who sits on the throne treats them as His own dear children, for such by grace they are; He spreads His presence like a tent over them. Negatively, their salvation consists in this, that they are delivered from every care and hardship, from every form of trial and persecution: no more hunger, thirst, or heat. Positively, their salvation means this, that they enjoy the most perfect bliss; the Lamb is now their shepherd (cf. Ps. 23; Jn. 10: 11, 14). Think of it, a Lamb being a shepherd! This Lamb leads His flock to life’s springs of water. Water symbolizes eternal life and salvation (Is. 55: 1; Jn. 7: 38, 39). The springs of water indicate the source of life, for through the Lamb the redeemed have eternal and uninterrupted fellowship with the Father.
Finally, the sweetest touch of all: ‘And God shall wipe away every tear out of their eyes.’ Not merely are the tears wiped or even wiped away; they are wiped out of the eyes so that nothing but perfect joy, bliss, glory, sweetest fellowship and most abundant life, remains! And God Himself is the Author of this perfect salvation.