요한계시록 Chapter 6

Translation: ESV

1

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!"

Key Message

The judgments of history do not come from chaos but begin under God's order when the Lamb opens the seals.

▸The Lamb who took the scroll in chapter 5 now opens the seals.

The Lamb who took the scroll in chapter 5 now opens the seals. The thunderous 'Come!' of one of the four living creatures is a divine command summoning the four horsemen. This shows that the judgment is directed by the Lamb. Judgment does not proceed in chaos but in orderly governance under God's sovereignty.

Related Verses

Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze.
2

And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

Key Message

The rider on the white horse represents the impulse of conquest and war in world history, proceeding under God's permission.

▸The first seal reveals a rider on a white horse.

3

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"

Key Message

The calamities of history proceed in sequence under God's sovereign permission.

▸The Lamb opens the second seal.

4

And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Key Message

War is a human tragedy, but it occurs under God's permission and serves his greater purpose.

▸The red horse rider symbolizes war.

5

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.

Key Message

Famine is a longstanding human calamity; rationing food by scale represents extreme deprivation.

▸The black horse rider symbolizes famine.

6

And I heard what seemed to be 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 wine!"

Key Message

The calamity of famine is also under God's control, and his judgment has limits and boundaries.

▸The severity of the famine is described concretely.

7

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"

Key Message

Judgment proceeds in stages, and each stage prepares for the next.

▸The Lamb opens the fourth seal.

8

And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

Key Message

Death and Hades operate only within the bounds God permits; limited judgment is a warning before the full judgment.

▸'Pale (chloros)' is the color of a corpse, the most direct expression of death.

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 witness they had borne.

Key Message

Those slain for their faith are not forgotten but are commemorated under the altar of God.

▸The fifth seal is entirely different in character from the four horsemen.

10

They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

Key Message

Only when one trusts in God's justice can one offer the fervent prayer 'how long?'

▸This is the cry of the martyrs.

11

Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been killed.

Key Message

God gives the martyrs the white robe of righteousness and promises that when the time is fulfilled, he will certainly execute justice.

▸God gives the martyrs two things: a white robe (evidence of justification) and an answer (rest a little longer).

12

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,

Key Message

The cosmic catastrophe of the sixth seal is a cosmic sign announcing that God's final judgment is near.

▸The sixth seal describes cosmic catastrophe.

13

and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

Key Message

Everything that humans believe to be eternal collapses and falls before God's judgment.

▸The image of 'stars falling to the earth' is an apocalyptic expression already used in Isaiah 34:4.

14

The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Key Message

The present heaven and earth are not eternal; they will be concluded by God's judgment and a new creation will begin.

▸'The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up' is a quotation from Isaiah 34:4, signifying the end of the current cosmic order.

15

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,

Key Message

All strata of society equally tremble and flee before God's wrath.

▸All strata of society are enumerated: kings, nobles, generals, the rich, the powerful, slaves, and the free.

16

calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,"

Key Message

The Lamb too is wrathful, and before that wrath no worldly refuge is of any use.

▸'Fall on us and hide us' is a strange prayer.

17

for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

Key Message

Only those within the Lamb's redemption can stand on the great day of God's wrath.

▸'Who can stand?' is the rhetorical question of Nahum 1:6 and Malachi 3:2.