Revelation: Chapters 6:1 – 8:5

Revelation 6:1-8:5 – Allusions to the OT  Ezekiel 14:12-23/Zechariah 1:6:1-8 and the four horsemen of the first four seals  Joel 2:1-11/Isaiah 34:1-4 the cosmic collapse and the Day of the Lord  Exodus 12:21-27/Ezekiel 9:1-6 and the mark/seal of protection for the people of God

Revelation 6:1-8 – The First Four Seals/Four Horsemen  This chapter begins a new sequence that will be repeated – a sevenfold vision cycle.  This cycle follows a general grouping of 4, 2, interlude, 1. For this cycle we have the 4 horsemen, the question of justice by the saints and the enacting of justice on the earth, the vision of the sealing of the saints and their vindication in heaven, and finally the silence and hearing of prayers.  The four horsemen should most likely be treated as a unit. We see similar depictions of colors/horsemen in Zechariah, but here they are connected beyond “patrolling” by also meting out hardships.  The white horseman focuses on war from without, the red on violence from within, the black with famine and food shortages, the pale with death and likely pestilence from disease.  The fourfold judgment is then reintroduced in the description of verse 8, “to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.” This is similar to judgment enacted in Ezekiel 14.  The number four, like the number seven, should likely be understood as complete or whole – so just as the four creatures are similar to all creation, these four judgments/tribulations are similar to trials/sufferings throughout the earth.  The horsemen in this respect help to symbolically visualize God’s power and rule in the face of suffering while also not being the direct cause.

Revelation 6:9-17 – The Fifth and Sixth Seals  The fifth seal turns attention to the already deceased saints who have died for their faith. They plead for justice.  They are told to wait until their fellow saints are also finished, for more would be killed/suffer on account of their faith. This implies not a specific set of numbered martyrs, but the present reality that God’s final judgment was yet to take place.  Commentators note that their placement underneath the altar demonstrates protection by God as well as the sacrificial nature of their death and suffering.  As the sixth seal is opened, God’s answer to those cries begins to come to pass. The allusions to pronouncements of judgment in Isaiah and Joel connect the idea of the ultimate fulfilling of God’s justice and judgment in the expected Day of the Lord.  The question of “who shall stand?” will take on more significance in the interlude of chapter 7. Revelation 7:1-17 – Interlude/Sealing of the Saints and the Praise of God  The connection to the winds here and their destructive power being checked may infer a connection to the four sufferings/judgments of the horsemen given the connection of winds and horsemen in Zechariah 6. Or it may not…  The main thrust of the interlude is the spiritual protection given to the followers of God. They are to be protected and like in Ezekiel 9 and Exodus 12 given a mark that separates them from the coming judgment.  The number of 144,000 (12,000 from the 12 tribes) is best interpreted by the immediately following context of an innumerable crowd “standing” before the throne. They are the entirety of believers through all the church, for all time, the complete number of the true Israel.  This multitude has passed through the great tribulation (Daniel 12?) and has been deemed faithful and pure (white robes), therefore they are able to stand and serve in the heavenly temple and find rest from any more destructive force.

Revelation 8:1-5 – The Seventh Seal/Introduction to the Seven Trumpets  Chapter 8 begins with a return to the seventh and final seal. Before the interlude the scene is of the world hiding from the imminent judgment of God.  As the seventh seal is opened there is silence in heaven. This is in contrast to the continual praise given by the songs of the creatures/elders/saints. Silence in some OT passages is connected with God rendering his judgment.  Then seven angels are given seven trumpets which connects the end of the cycle with the beginning of the next.  A different angel then serves a priestly function by offering prayers and incense before God.  The peals of thunder, sounds, lightning and earthquake connect with later descriptions of final judgment and the appearing of God to his people on Sinai in Exodus 19. The seventh seal interpreted in this way is the answering of the prayers of 6:10 by God in the end of all things.