Teks -- Revelation 6:1-17 (NET)

The Seven Seals

6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, “Come!” 6:2 So I looked, and here came a white horse! The one who rode it had a bow, and he was given a crown, and as a conqueror he rode out to conquer. 6:3 Then when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 6:4 And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword. 6:5 Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand. 6:6 Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” 6:7 Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 6:8 So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth. 6:9 Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 6:10 They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been. 6:12 Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red; 6:13 and the stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a fierce wind. 6:14 The sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 6:17 because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Robertson: Rev 6:1 - And I saw

And I saw ( kai eidon ).

As in Rev 4:1; Rev 5:1. The vision unfolds without anything being said about opening the book and reading from it. In a more vivid and dramatic fashion the Lamb breaks the seals one by one and reveals the contents and the symbolism. The first four seals have a common note from one of the four zōa and the appearance of a horse. No effort will be made here to interpret these seals as referring to persons or historical events in the past, present, or future, but simply to relate the symbolism to the other symbols in the book. It is possible that there is some allusion here to the symbolism in the so-called "Little Apocalypse"of Mark 13; Matt 24 and the following chapters; and Luke 21. The imagery of the four horses is similar to that in Zec 1:7-11; Zec 6:1-8 (cf. Jer 14:12; Jer 24:10; Jer 42:17). In the Old Testament the horse is often the emblem of war (Job 39:25; Psa 76:6; Pro 21:31; Eze 26:10). "Homer pictures the horses of Rhesus as whiter than snow, and swift as the wind"(Vincent).

Robertson: Rev 6:1 - When the Lamb opened

When the Lamb opened ( hote ēnoixen to arnion ).

First aorist active indicative of anoigō . This same phrase recurs in rhythmical order at the opening of each seal (Rev 6:1, Rev 6:3, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:7, Rev 6:9, Rev 6:12) till the last (Rev 8:1), where we have hotan ēnoixen (hotan rather than hote calling particular attention to it).

Robertson: Rev 6:1 - One

One ( mian ).

Probably used here as an ordinal (the first) as in Mat 28:1. See Robertson, Grammar , p. 671f.

Robertson: Rev 6:1 - Of

Of ( ek ).

This use of ek with the ablative in the partitive sense is common in the Apocalypse, as twice in this verse (ek tōn , etc.). So henos ek tōn (one of the four living creatures) is "the first of,"etc.

Robertson: Rev 6:1 - In a voice of thunder

In a voice of thunder ( en phōnēi brontēs ).

Old word used of John and James (Mar 3:17) and elsewhere in N.T. only Joh 12:29 and a dozen times in the Apocalypse.

Robertson: Rev 6:1 - Come

Come ( Erchou ).

Present middle imperative of erchomai , but with exclamatory force (not strictly linear). The command is not addressed to the Lamb nor to John (the correct text omits kai ide "and see") as in Rev 17:1; Rev 21:9, but to one of the four horsemen each time. Swete takes it as a call to Christ because erchou is so used in Rev 22:17, Rev 22:20, but that is not conclusive.

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - And I saw and behold

And I saw and behold ( kai eidon kai idou ).

This combination is frequent in the Apocalypse (Rev 4:1; Rev 6:2, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:8; Rev 14:1, Rev 14:14; Rev 19:11).

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - A white horse

A white horse ( hippos leukos ).

In Zec 6:1-8 we have red, black, white, and grizzled bay horses like the four winds of heaven, ministers to do God’ s will. White seems to be the colour of victory (cf. the white horse of the Persian Kings) like the white horse ridden by the Roman conqueror in a triumphant procession.

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - Had

Had ( echōn ).

Agreeing in gender and case with ho kathēmenos .

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - A bow

A bow ( toxon ).

Old word (Zec 9:13. of a great bow), here only in N.T.

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - Was given

Was given ( edothē ).

First aorist passive indicative of didōmi .

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - A crown

A crown ( stephanos ).

See note on Rev 4:4 for this word.

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - He came forth

He came forth ( exēlthen ).

Second aorist active indicative of exerchomai , either to come out or to go out (went forth).

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - Conquering

Conquering ( nikōn ).

Present active participle of nikaō .

Robertson: Rev 6:2 - And to conquer

And to conquer ( kai hina nikēsēi ).

Purpose clause with hina and the first aorist active subjunctive of nikaō . Here hōs nikēsōn (future active participle with hōs ) could have been used. The aorist tense here points to ultimate victory. Commentators have been busy identifying the rider of the white horse according to their various theories. "It is tempting to identify him with the Rider on the white horse in Rev 19:11., whose name is ‘ the Word of God’ "(Swete). Tempting, "but the two riders have nothing in common beyond the white horse.

Robertson: Rev 6:3 - The second seal

The second seal ( tēn sphragida tēn deuteran ).

"The seal the second."The white horse with his rider vanished from the scene bent on his conquering career.

Robertson: Rev 6:4 - A red horse

A red horse ( hippos purros ).

Old adjective from pur (fire), flame-coloured, blood-red (2Ki 3:22), in N.T. only here and Rev 12:3, like Zec 1:8; Zec 6:2 (roan horse).

Robertson: Rev 6:4 - To take peace from the earth

To take peace from the earth ( labein tēn eirēnēn ek tēs gēs ).

Second aorist active infinitive of lambanō , and here the nominative case, the subject of edothē (see Rev 6:2), "to take peace out of the earth."Alas, how many red horses have been ridden through the ages.

Robertson: Rev 6:4 - And that they should slay one another

And that they should slay one another ( kai hina allēlous sphaxousin ).

Epexegetical explanatory purpose clause with hina and the future active of sphazō (Rev 5:6) instead of the more usual subjunctive (Rev 6:2). Cf. Robertson, Grammar , p. 998f. This is what war does to perfection, makes cannon fodder (cf. Joh 14:27) of men.

Robertson: Rev 6:4 - A great sword

A great sword ( machaira megalē ).

Machaira may be a knife carried in a sheath at the girdle (Joh 18:10) or a long sword in battle as here. Romphaia , also a large sword, is the only other word for sword in the N.T. (Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12, Rev 2:16; Rev 6:8; Rev 19:15, Rev 19:21).

Robertson: Rev 6:5 - A black horse

A black horse ( hippos melas ).

Lust of conquest brings bloodshed, but also famine and hunger. "The colour of mourning and famine. See Jer 4:28; Jer 8:21; Mal 3:14, where mournfully is, literally, in black"(Vincent).

Robertson: Rev 6:5 - Had

Had ( echōn )

as in Rev 6:2.

Robertson: Rev 6:5 - A balance

A balance ( zugon ).

Literally, a yoke (old word from zeugnumi , to join), of slavery (Act 15:10; Gal 5:1), of teaching (Mat 11:29), of weight or measure like a pair of scales evenly balancing as here (Eze 5:1; Eze 45:10). The rider of this black horse, like the spectral figure of hunger, carries in his hand a pair of scales. This is also one of the fruits of war.

Robertson: Rev 6:6 - As it were a voice

As it were a voice ( hōs phōnēn ).

"This use of hōs , giving a certain vagueness or mysteriousness to a phrase, is one of the characteristics of the writer’ s style, e.g., Rev 8:1; Rev 14:3; Rev 19:1, Rev 19:6"(Beckwith). This voice comes from the midst of the four living creatures, "the protest of nature against the horrors of famine"(Swete).

Robertson: Rev 6:6 - A measure

A measure ( choinix ).

Old word for less than a quart with us, here only in N.T.

Robertson: Rev 6:6 - Of wheat

Of wheat ( sitou ).

Old word for wheat, a number of times in N.T., in Rev only here and Rev 18:13. This was enough wheat to keep a man of moderate appetite alive for a day.

Robertson: Rev 6:6 - For a penny

For a penny ( dēnariou ).

Genitive of price, the wages of a day laborer (Mat 20:2), about eighteen cents in our money today.

Robertson: Rev 6:6 - Of barley

Of barley ( krithōn ).

Old word krithē , usually in plural as here. Barley was the food of the poor and it was cheaper even in the famine and it took more of it to support life. Here the proportion is three to one (cf. 2Ki 7:18). The proclamation forbids famine prices for food (solid and liquid).

Robertson: Rev 6:6 - Hurt thou not

Hurt thou not ( mē adikēsēis ).

Prohibition with mē and the ingressive first aorist active subjunctive of adikeō . See Rev 7:3; Rev 9:4 for adikeō for injury to vegetable life. "The prohibition is addressed to the nameless rider who represents Dearth"(Swete). Wheat and barley, oil and the vine, were the staple foods in Palestine and Asia Minor.

Robertson: Rev 6:8 - A pale horse

A pale horse ( hippos chlōros ).

Old adjective. Contracted from chloeros (from chloē , tender green grass) used of green grass (Mar 6:39; Rev 8:7; Rev 9:4), here for yellowish, common in both senses in old Greek, though here only in N.T. in this sense, greenish yellow. We speak of a sorrel horse, never of a green horse. Zechariah (Zec 6:3) uses poikilos (grizzled or variegated). Homer used chlōros of the ashen colour of a face blanched by fear (pallid) and so the pale horse is a symbol of death and of terror.

Robertson: Rev 6:8 - His name was Death

His name was Death ( onoma autōi ho thanatos ).

Anacoluthon in grammatical structure like that in Joh 3:1 (cf. Rev 2:26) and common enough. Death is the name of this fourth rider (so personified) and there is with Death "his inseparable comrade, Hades (Rev 1:16; Rev 20:13.)"(Swete). Hades (hāidēs , alpha privative, and idein , to see, the unseen) is the abode of the dead, the keys of which Christ holds (Rev 1:18).

Robertson: Rev 6:8 - Followed

Followed ( ēkolouthei ).

Imperfect active of akoloutheō , kept step with death, whether on the same horse or on another horse by his side or on foot John does not say.

Robertson: Rev 6:8 - Over the fourth part of the earth

Over the fourth part of the earth ( epi to tetarton tēs gēs ).

Partitive genitive gēs after tetarton . Wider authority (exousia ) was given to this rider than to the others, though what part of the earth is included in the fourth part is not indicated.

Robertson: Rev 6:8 - To kill

To kill ( apokteinai ).

First aorist active infinitive of apokteinō , explanation of the exousia (authority). The four scourges of Eze 14:21 are here reproduced with instrumental en with the inanimate things (romphaiāi , limōi thanatōi ) and hupo for the beasts (thēriōn ). Death here (thanatōi ) seems to mean pestilence as the Hebrew does (loimos - cf. limos famine). Cf. the "black death"for a plague.

Robertson: Rev 6:9 - Under the altar

Under the altar ( hupokatō tou thusiastēriou ).

"Under"(hupokatō ), for the blood of the sacrifices was poured at the bottom of the altar (Lev 4:7). The altar of sacrifice (Exo 39:39; Exo 40:29), not of incense. The imagery, as in Hebrews, is from the tabernacle. For the word see Mat 5:23., often in Rev (Rev 8:3, Rev 8:5; Rev 9:13; Rev 11:1; Rev 14:18; Rev 16:7). This altar in heaven is symbolic, of course, the antitype for the tabernacle altar (Heb 8:5). The Lamb was slain (Rev 5:6, Rev 5:9, Rev 5:12) and these martyrs have followed the example of their Lord.

Robertson: Rev 6:9 - The souls

The souls ( tas psuchas ).

The lives, for the life is in the blood (Lev 17:11), were given for Christ (Phi 2:17; 2Ti 4:6).

Robertson: Rev 6:9 - Of the slain

Of the slain ( tōn esphagmenōn ).

See Rev 5:6. Christians were slain during the Neronian persecution and now again under Domitian. A long line of martyrs has followed.

Robertson: Rev 6:9 - For the word of God

For the word of God ( dia ton logon tou theou ).

As in Rev 1:9, the confession of loyalty to Christ as opposed to emperor-worship.

Robertson: Rev 6:9 - And for the testimony which they held

And for the testimony which they held ( kai dia tēn marturian hēn eichon ).

See also Rev 1:9. Probably kai equals "even"here, explaining the preceding. The imperfect tense eichon suits the repetition of the witness to Christ and the consequent death.

Robertson: Rev 6:10 - How long

How long ( heōs pote ).

"Until when."Cf. Mat 7:17; Joh 10:24.

Robertson: Rev 6:10 - O Master

O Master ( ho despotēs ).

Nominative articular form, but used as vocative (despota ) as in Rev 4:11 (Joh 20:28). On despotēs (correlative of doulos ) see Luk 2:29. Here (alone in the Apocalypse) it is applied to God as in Luk 2:29; Act 4:24, but to Christ in Jud 1:4; 2Pe 2:1.

Robertson: Rev 6:10 - The holy and true

The holy and true ( ho hagios kai alēthinos ).

See Rev 3:7 for these attributes of God.

Robertson: Rev 6:10 - Avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth

Avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth ( ekdikeis to haima hēmōn ek tōn katoikountōn epi tēs gēs ).

This same idiom in Rev 19:2 and see it also in Luk 18:7., "a passage which goes far to answer many questions in theodicy"(Swete). We find ekdikeō , late compound, used with ek as here in Deu 18:19; 1Sa 24:13, but with apo in Luk 18:3. For epi tēs gēs (upon the earth) see Rev 3:10.

Robertson: Rev 6:11 - A white robe

A white robe ( stolē leukē ).

Old word from stellō , to equip, an equipment in clothes, a flowing robe (Mar 12:38). For the white robe for martyrs see Rev 3:4.; Rev 4:4; Rev 7:9, Rev 7:13; Rev 19:14.

Robertson: Rev 6:11 - That they should rest

That they should rest ( hina anapausontai ).

Sub-final clause with hina and the future indicative (as in Rev 3:9; Rev 6:4) middle rather than the aorist middle subjunctive anapausōntai of Aleph C.

Robertson: Rev 6:11 - Yet for a little time

Yet for a little time ( eti chronon mikron ).

Accusative of extension of time as in Rev 20:3. Perhaps rest from their cry for vengeance and also rest in peace (Rev 14:13). For the verb anapauō see note on Mat 11:28.

Robertson: Rev 6:11 - Until should be fulfilled

Until should be fulfilled ( heōs plērōthōsin ).

Future indefinite temporal clause with heōs and the first aorist passive subjunctive of plēroō , to fill full (Mat 23:32; Col 2:10), "until be filled full"(the number of), regular Greek idiom.

Robertson: Rev 6:11 - Which should be killed

Which should be killed ( hoi mellontes apoktennesthai ).

Regular construction of articular present active participle of mellō (about to be, going to be) with the present passive infinitive of apoktennō , Aeolic and late form for apokteinō , to kill (also in Mar 12:5). John foresees more persecution coming (Rev 2:10; Rev 3:10).

Robertson: Rev 6:12 - There was a great earthquake

There was a great earthquake ( seismos megas egeneto ).

"There came a great earthquake."Jesus spoke of earthquakes in his great eschatological discourse (Mar 13:8). In Mat 24:29 the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Seismos is from seiō , to shake, and occurs also in Rev 8:5; Rev 11:13, Rev 11:19; Rev 16:18. The reference is not a local earthquake like those so common in Asia Minor.

Robertson: Rev 6:12 - As sackcloth of hair

As sackcloth of hair ( hōs sakkos trichinos ).

Sakkos (Attic sakos ), Latin saccus , English sack , originally a bag for holding things (Gen 42:25, Gen 42:35), then coarse garment of hair (trichinos , old word from thrix , here only in N.T.) clinging to one like a sack, of mourners, suppliants, prophets leading austere lives (Mat 3:4; Mat 11:21; Luk 10:13). Here the hair is that of the black goat (Isa 50:3). Cf. Joe 2:10; Eze 32:7.; Isa 13:10; Mar 13:24. See Ecc 12:2 for eclipses treated as symbols of old age. Apocalyptic pictures all have celestial phenomena following earthquakes.

Robertson: Rev 6:12 - As blood

As blood ( hōs haima ).

In Act 2:20 we find Peter interpreting the apocalyptic eschatological language of Joe 2:31 about the sun being turned into darkness and the moon into blood as pointing to the events of the day of Pentecost as also "the great day of the Lord."Peter’ s interpretation of Joel should make us cautious about too literal an exegesis of these grand symbols.

Robertson: Rev 6:13 - Her unripe figs

Her unripe figs ( tous olunthous autēs ).

An old word (Latin grossi ) for figs that grow in winter and fall off in the spring without getting ripe (So Rev 2:11.), here only in N.T. Jesus used the fig tree (Mar 13:28) as a sign of the "end of the world’ s long winter"(Swete). Cf. Isa 34:4; Nah 3:12.

Robertson: Rev 6:13 - When she is shaken of a great wind

When she is shaken of a great wind ( hupo anemou megalou seiomenē ).

Present passive participle of seiō , "being shaken by a great wind."See Mat 11:7 for the reed so shaken.

Robertson: Rev 6:14 - Was removed

Was removed ( apechōristhē ).

First aorist passive indicative of apochōrizō , to separate, to part (Act 15:39). "The heaven was parted."

Robertson: Rev 6:14 - As a scroll when it is rolled up

As a scroll when it is rolled up ( hōs biblion helissomenon ).

Present passive participle of helissō , old verb, to roll up, in N.T. only here (from Isa 34:4) and Heb 1:12 (from Psa 102:27). Vivid picture of the expanse of the sky rolled up and away as a papyrus roll (Luk 4:17).

Robertson: Rev 6:14 - Were moved

Were moved ( ekinēthēsan ).

First aorist passive indicative of kineō , to move.

Robertson: Rev 6:14 - Out of their places

Out of their places ( ek tōn topōn autōn ).

See also Rev 16:20 for these violent displacements in the earth’ s crust. Cf. Nah 1:5; Jer 4:24. Jesus spoke of faith removing mountains (of difficulty) as in Mar 11:23 (cf. 1Co 13:2).

Robertson: Rev 6:15 - The princes

The princes ( hoi megistānes ).

Late word from the superlative megistos , in lxx, Josephus, papyri, in N.T. only in Mar 6:21; Rev 6:15; Rev 18:23, for the grandees, the persecuting proconsuls (Swete).

Robertson: Rev 6:15 - The chief captains

The chief captains ( hoi chiliarchoi ).

The commanders of thousands, the military tribunes (Mar 6:21; Rev 19:18).

Robertson: Rev 6:15 - The rich

The rich ( hoi plousioi ).

Not merely those in civil and military authority will be terror-stricken, but the self-satisfied and complacent rich (Jam 5:4.).

Robertson: Rev 6:15 - The strong

The strong ( hoi ischuroi ).

Who usually scoff at fear. See the list in Rev 13:16; Rev 19:18. Cf. Luk 21:26.

Robertson: Rev 6:15 - Every bondman

Every bondman ( pās doulos )

and freeman (kai eleutheros ). The two extremes of society.

Robertson: Rev 6:15 - Hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains

Hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains ( ekrupsan heautous eis ta spēlaia kai eis tas petras tōn oreōn ).

Based on Isa 2:10, Isa 2:18. First aorist active indicative of kruptō with the reflexive pronoun. For the old word spēlaion see Mat 21:13; Heb 11:38. Oreōn is the uncontracted Ionic form (for orōn ) of the genitive plural of oros (mountain).

Robertson: Rev 6:16 - They say

They say ( legousin ).

Vivid dramatic present active indicative, as is natural here.

Robertson: Rev 6:16 - Fall on us

Fall on us ( Pesate eph' hēmās ).

Second aorist (first aorist ending) imperative of piptō , tense of urgency, do it now.

Robertson: Rev 6:16 - And hide us

And hide us ( kai krupsate hēmās ).

Same tense of urgency again from kruptō (verb in Rev 6:15). Both imperatives come in inverted order from Hos 10:8 with kalupsate (cover) in place of krupsate (hide), quoted by Jesus on the way to the Cross (Luk 23:30) in the order here, but with kalupsate , not krupsate .

Robertson: Rev 6:16 - From the face of him that

From the face of him that ( apo prosōpou tou , etc.).

"What sinners dread most is not death, but the revealed Presence of God"(Swete). Cf. Gen 3:8.

Robertson: Rev 6:16 - And from the wrath of the Lamb

And from the wrath of the Lamb ( kai apo tēs orgēs tou arniou ).

Repetition of "the grave irony"(Swete) of Rev 5:5. The Lamb is the Lion again in the terribleness of his wrath. Recall the mourning in Rev 1:7. See Mat 25:41. where Jesus pronounces the woes on the wicked.

Robertson: Rev 6:17 - The great day

The great day ( hē hēmera hē megalē ).

The phrase occurs in the O.T. prophets (Joe 2:11, Joe 2:31; Zep 1:14. Cf. Jud 1:6) and is here combined with "of their wrath"(tēs orgēs autōn ) as in Zep 1:15, Zep 1:18; Zep 2:3; Rom 2:5. "Their"(autōn ) means the wrath of God and of the Lamb put here on an equality as in Rev 1:17., Rev 22:3, Rev 22:13; 1Th 3:11; 2Th 2:16. Beckwith holds that this language about the great day having come "is the mistaken cry of men in terror caused by the portents which are bursting upon them."There is something, to be sure, to be said for this view which denies that John commits himself to the position that this is the end of the ages.

Robertson: Rev 6:17 - And who is able to stand?

And who is able to stand? ( kai tis dunatai stathēnai̇ ).

Very much like the words in Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2. First aorist passive infinitive of histēmi . It is a rhetorical question, apparently by the frightened crowds of Rev 6:15. Swete observes that the only possible answer to that cry is the command of Jesus in Luk 21:36 : "Keep awake on every occasion, praying that ye may get strength to stand (stathēnai , the very form) before the Son of Man."

Vincent: Rev 6:1 - Of the seals

Of the seals

Add seven .

Vincent: Rev 6:1 - And see

And see

Omit.

Vincent: Rev 6:2 - White horse

White horse

For white , see on Luk 19:29. Horse , see Zec 1:7-11; Zec 6:1-8. All the figures of this verse are those of victory. The horse in the Old Testament is the emblem of war. See Job 39:25; Psa 76:6; Pro 21:31; Eze 26:10. So Virgil:

" But I beheld upon the grass four horses, snowy white,

Grazing the meadows far and wide, first omen of my sight.

Father Anchises seeth, and saith: 'New land and bear'st thou war?

For war are horses dight; so these war-threatening herd-beasts are.'"

" Aeneid ," iii ., 537 .

So Turnus, going forth to battle:

" He spake, and to the roofed place now swiftly wending home,

Called for his steeds, and merrily stood there before their foam

E'en those that Orithyia gave Pilumnus, gift most fair,

Whose whiteness overpassed the snow, whose speed the winged air."

" Aeneid ," xii ., 81-83 .

Homer pictures the horses of Rhesus as whiter than snow, and swift as the winds (" Iliad," x., 436, 437); and Herodotus, describing the battle of Plataea says: " The fight went most against the Greeks where Mardonius, mounted on a white horse, and surrounded by the bravest of all the Persians, the thousand picked men, fought in person" (ix., 63). The horses of the Roman generals in their triumphs were white.

Vincent: Rev 6:2 - Bow

Bow ( τόξον )

See Psa 45:4, Psa 45:5; Heb 3:8, Heb 3:9; Isa 41:2; Zec 9:13,Zec 9:14, in which last passage the figure is that of a great bow which is drawn only by a great exertion of strength, and by placing the foot upon it. Compare Homer's picture of Telemachus' attempt to draw Ulysses' bow:

" And then he took his place

Upon the threshold, and essayed the bow;

And thrice he made the attempt and thrice gave o'er."

" Odyssey ," xxi ., 124-25 .

The suitors propose to anoint the bow with fat in order to soften it.

" Bring us from within

An ample roll of fat, that we young men

By warming and anointing may make soft

The bow, and draw the cord and end the strife."

" Odyssey ," xxi ., 178-80 .

Vincent: Rev 6:2 - A crown

A crown ( στέφανος )

See on Rev 4:4.

Vincent: Rev 6:3 - And see

And see

Omit.

Vincent: Rev 6:3 - Had opened

Had opened ( ἤνοιξεν )

Rev., rendering the aorist mow literally, opened .

Vincent: Rev 6:4 - Red

Red ( πυῤῥός )

From πῦρ fire . Flame-colored . Compare 2Ki 3:22; Zec 1:8. Only here and Rev 12:3.

Vincent: Rev 6:4 - To take peace from the earth

To take peace from the earth

Compare Mat 10:34; Mat 24:7.

Vincent: Rev 6:4 - Kill

Kill ( σφάξωσιν )

See on Rev 5:6.

Vincent: Rev 6:4 - Sword

Sword ( μάχαιρα )

Compare Mat 10:34. In Homer, a large knife or dirk, worn next the sword-sheath, and used to slaughter animals for sacrifice. Thus, " The son of Atreus, having drawn with his hands the knife (μάχαιραν ) which hung ever by the great sheath of his sword, cut the hair from the heads of the lambs.... He spake, and cut the lambs' throats with the pitiless brass" (" Iliad," iii., 271-292). It is used by the surgeon Machaon to cut out an arrow (" Iliad," xi., 844). Herodotus, Aristophanes, and Euripides use the word in the sense of a knife for cutting up meat . Plato, of a knife for pruning trees . As a weapon it appears first in Herodotus: " Here they (the Greeks) defended themselves to the last, such as still had swords , using them (vii., 225) Later of the sabre or bent sword, contrasted with the ξίφος or straight sword. Aristophanes uses it with the adjective μιᾷ single , for a razor , contrasted with μάχαιρα διπλῆ , the double knife or scissors . This and ῥομφαία (see on Luk 2:35) are the only words used in the New Testament for sword . Θίφος (see above) does not occur. In Septuagint μάχαιρα of the knife of sacrifice used by Abraham (Gen 22:6,Gen 22:10).

Vincent: Rev 6:5 - Come and see

Come and see

Omit and see .

Vincent: Rev 6:5 - Black

Black

The color of mourning and famine. See Jer 4:28; Jer 8:21; Mal 3:14, where mournfully is, literally, in black .

Vincent: Rev 6:5 - Pair of balances

Pair of balances ( ζυγὸν )

Rev., a balance . Properly, anything which joins two bodies; hence a yoke (Mat 11:29; Act 15:10). The cross-beam of the loom, to which the warp was fixed; the thwarts joining the opposite sides of a ship; the beam of the balance, and hence the balance itself. The judgment of this seal is scarcity , of which the balance is a symbol, representing the time when food is doled out by weight. See Lev 26:26; Eze 4:16.

Vincent: Rev 6:6 - Measure

Measure ( χοῖνιξ )

Choenix. Only here in the New Testament. A dry measure, according to some, a quart ; to others a pint and a half . Herodotus, speaking of the provisions for Xerxes' army, assigns a choenix of corn for a man's daily supply, evidently meaning a minimum allowance (vii., 187); and Thucydides, speaking of the terms of truce between the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, mentions the following as one of the provisions: " The Athenians shall permit the Lacedaemonians on the mainland to send to those on the island a fixed quantity of kneaded flour, viz., two Attic quarts (χοίνικας ) of barley-meal for each man" (iv., 16). Jowett (" Thucydides" ) says that the choenix was about two pints dry measure. So Arnold (" Thucydides" ), who adds that the allowance of two choenixes of barley-meal daily to a man was the ordinary allowance of a Spartan at the public table. See Herodotus, vi., 57.

Vincent: Rev 6:6 - For a penny

For a penny ( δηναρίου )

See on Mat 20:2.

Vincent: Rev 6:8 - Pale

Pale ( χλωρὸς )

Only in Revelation, except Mar 6:39. Properly, greenish-yellow , like young grass or unripe wheat. Homer applies it to honey , and Sophocles to the sand . Generally, pale , pallid . Used of a mist, of sea-water, of a pale or bilious complexion. Thucydides uses it of the appearance of persons stricken with the plague (ii., 49). In Homer it is used of the paleness of the face from fear, and so as directly descriptive of fear (" Iliad," x., 376; xv., 4). Of olive wood (" Odyssey," ix., 320, 379) of which the bark is gray. Gladstone says that in Homer it indicates rather the absence than the presence of definite color. In the New Testament, always rendered green , except here. See Mar 6:39; Rev 8:7; Rev 9:14.

Vincent: Rev 6:8 - Hell

Hell

Properly, Hades . The realm of the dead personified. See on Mat 16:18.

Vincent: Rev 6:8 - Power

Power ( ἐξουσία )

See on Mar 2:10; see on 2Pe 2:11. Rev., better, authority .

Vincent: Rev 6:8 - With the sword

With the sword ( ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ )

Another word for sword. Compare Rev 6:4, and see on Luk 2:35.

Vincent: Rev 6:8 - With death

With death ( ἐι θανάτῳ )

Or pestilence . The Hebrew deber , pestilence , is rendered by the Greek word for death in the Septuagint. See Jer 14:12; Jer 21:7. Compare the term black-death applied to an Oriental plague which raged in the fourteenth century.

Vincent: Rev 6:8 - With the beasts

With the beasts ( ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων )

Rev., by . The preposition ὑπό by is used here instead of ἐν in or with , indicating more definitely the actual agent of destruction; while ἐν denotes the element in which the destruction takes place, and gives a general indication of the manner in which it was wrought. With these four judgments compare Eze 14:21.

Vincent: Rev 6:9 - Altar

Altar ( θυσιαστηρίου )

See on Act 17:23. The altar of sacrifice , as is indicated by slain ; not the altar of incense . The imagery is from the tabernacle. Exo 39:39; Exo 40:29.

Vincent: Rev 6:9 - Souls

Souls ( ψυχὰς )

Or lives . See on 3Jo 1:2. He saw only blood , but blood and life were equivalent terms to the Hebrew.

Vincent: Rev 6:9 - Slain

Slain ( ἐσφαγμένων )

See on Rev 5:6. The law commanded that the blood of sacrificed animals should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering (Lev 4:7).

Vincent: Rev 6:9 - They held

They held ( εἶχον )

Not held fast , but bore the testimony which was committed to them.

Vincent: Rev 6:10 - They cried

They cried ( ἔκραζον )

See on Mar 5:5.

Vincent: Rev 6:10 - How long

How long ( ἕως πότε )

Lit., until when . Compare Zec 1:12.

Vincent: Rev 6:10 - O Lord

O Lord ( ὁ δεσπότης )

See on 2Pe 2:1. Only here in Revelation. Addressed to God rather than to Christ , and breathing, as Professor Milligan remarks, " the feeling of Old Testament rather than of New Testament relation." Compare Act 4:24; Jud 1:4.

Vincent: Rev 6:10 - True

True ( ἀληθινὸς )

See on Joh 1:9; see on Rev 3:7.

Vincent: Rev 6:10 - Judge

Judge ( κρίνεις )

Originally the verb means to separate ; thence the idea of selection: to pick out , and so to discriminate or judge .

Vincent: Rev 6:10 - Avenge

Avenge ( ἐκδικεῖς )

Compare Luk 18:3; Rom 12:19.

Vincent: Rev 6:10 - On the earth

On the earth ( ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς )

Earth , in Revelation, is generally to be understood of the ungodly earth.

Vincent: Rev 6:11 - White robes were given unto every one of them

White robes were given unto every one of them ( ἐδόθησαν ἑκάστοις στολαὶ λευκαὶ )

The best texts read ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἑκάστῳ στολὴ λευκή there was given them to each one a white robe . So Rev. Στολὴ is properly a long , flowing robe; a festive garment. Compare Mar 16:5; Luk 15:22; Luk 20:46.

Vincent: Rev 6:11 - Should rest

Should rest ( ἀναπαύσωνται )

See on Mat 11:28; see on 1Pe 5:14; compare Rev 14:13; Dan 12:13. Not merely rest from their crying for vengeance, but rest in peace.

Vincent: Rev 6:11 - Fellow-servants

Fellow-servants

See Master in Rev 6:10.

Vincent: Rev 6:11 - Should be fulfilled

Should be fulfilled ( πληρώσονται )

Completed in number. See Col 2:10. Some texts read πληρώσωσιν shall have fulfilled their course .

Vincent: Rev 6:12 - The sixth seal

The sixth seal

" The Apocalypse is molded by the great discourse of our Lord upon 'the last things' which has been preserved for us in the first three Gospels (Mat 24:4; 25.; Mark 13:5-37; Luke 21:8-36; compare 17:20-37). The parallelism between the two is, to a certain extent, acknowledged by all inquirers, and is indeed, in many respects, so obvious, that it can hardly escape the notice of even the ordinary reader. Let any one compare, for example, the account of the opening of the sixth seal with the description of the end (Mat 24:29, Mat 24:30), and he will see that the one is almost a transcript of the other. It is remarkable that we find no account of this discourse in the Gospel of St. John; nor does it seem as sufficient explanation of the omission that the later Evangelist was satisfied with the records of the discourse already given by his predecessors" (Milligan).

Vincent: Rev 6:12 - Earthquake

Earthquake ( σεισμὸς )

Lit., shaking . Used also of a tempest . See on Mat 8:24, and compare Mat 24:7. The word here is not necessarily confined to shaking the earth. In Mat 24:29, it is predicted that the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (σαλευθήσονται , see on Luk 21:26). Here also the heaven is removed (Rev 6:14). Compare Heb 12:26, where the verb σείω to shake (kindred with σεισμὸς ) is used.

Vincent: Rev 6:12 - Black as sackcloth of hair

Black as sackcloth of hair ( μέλας ὡς σάκκος )

Compare Mat 24:29; Isa 50:3; Isa 13:10; Jer 4:23; Eze 32:7, Eze 32:8; Joe 2:31; Joe 3:15; Amo 8:9, Amo 8:10; Mic 3:6. For sackcloth , see on Luk 10:13.

Vincent: Rev 6:12 - The moon

The moon ( ἡ σελήνη )

Add ὅλη whole . Rev., the whole moon .

Vincent: Rev 6:13 - Untimely figs

Untimely figs ( ὀλύνθους )

Better, as Rev., unripe . Compare Mat 24:32; Isa 34:4. Only here in the New Testament.

Vincent: Rev 6:14 - Departed

Departed ( ἀπεχωρισθη )

The verb means to separate , sever . Rev., was removed .

Vincent: Rev 6:14 - Scroll

Scroll ( βιβλίον )

See on Luk 4:17. Compare Isa 34:4.

Vincent: Rev 6:14 - Mountain and island

Mountain and island

Compare Mat 24:35; Nah 1:5.

Vincent: Rev 6:15 - Of the earth

Of the earth

See on Rev 6:10.

Vincent: Rev 6:15 - Great men

Great men ( μεγιστᾶνες )

Rev., princes . See on high captains , Mar 6:21.

Vincent: Rev 6:15 - Chief captains

Chief captains ( χιλίαρχοι )

See on Mar 6:21, and see on centurion , Luk 7:2.

Vincent: Rev 6:15 - The mighty

The mighty ( οἱ δυνατοὶ )

The best texts read οἱ ἰσχυροὶ. Rev., the strong . For the difference in meaning, see on the kindred words δύναμις and ἰσχύς might and power , 2Pe 2:11.

Vincent: Rev 6:15 - Every free man

Every free man

Omit every , and read as Rev., every bondman and free man .

Vincent: Rev 6:15 - In the dens

In the dens ( εἰς τὰ σπήλαια )

Rev., caves . The preposition εἰς into implies running for shelter into.

Vincent: Rev 6:15 - Rocks

Rocks ( πέτρας )

See on Mat 16:18.

Vincent: Rev 6:16 - Said

Said ( λέγουσιν )

Lit., say . So Rev.

Vincent: Rev 6:16 - Fall on us

Fall on us

Compare Hos 10:8; Luk 23:30.

Vincent: Rev 6:16 - Wrath

Wrath ( ὀργῆς )

Denoting a deep-seated wrath. See on Joh 3:36.

Vincent: Rev 6:17 - The great day

The great day ( ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη )

Lit., the day , the great ( day ). For the construction, see on 1Jo 4:9.

Vincent: Rev 6:17 - Is come

Is come ( ἦλθεν )

Lit., came .

Vincent: Rev 6:17 - Shall be able to stand

Shall be able to stand ( δύναται σταθῆναι )

Rev., rightly, is able . Compare Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2.

Wesley: Rev 6:1 - I heard one

That is, the first.

Wesley: Rev 6:1 - Of the living creatures

Who looks forward toward the east.

Wesley: Rev 6:2 - And I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow

This colour, and the bow shooting arrows afar off, betoken victory, triumph, prosperity, enlargement of empire, and dominion over many people.

Another horseman, indeed, and of quite another kind, appears on a white horse, Rev 19:11. But he that is spoken of under the first seal must be so understood as to bear a proportion to the horsemen in the second, third, and fourth seal.

Nerva succeeded the emperor Domitian at the very time when the Revelation was written, in the year of our Lord 96. He reigned scarce a year alone; and three months before his death he named Trajan for his colleague and successor, and died in the year 98. Trajan's accession to the empire seems to be the dawning of the seven seals.

Wesley: Rev 6:2 - And a crown was given him

This, considering his descent, Trajan could have no hope of attaining. But God gave it him by the hand of Nerva; and then the east soon felt his power.

Wesley: Rev 6:2 - And he went forth conquering and to conquer

That is, from one victory to another. In the year 108 the already victorious Trajan went forth toward the east, to conquer not only Armenia, Assyria, and Mesopotamia, but also the countries beyond the Tigris, carrying the bounds of the Roman empire to a far greater extent than ever. We find no emperor like him for making conquests. He aimed at nothing else; he lived only to conquer. Meantime, in him was eminently fulfilled what had been prophesied of the fourth empire, Dan 2:40, Dan 7:23, that he should "devour, tread down, and break in pieces the whole earth."

Wesley: Rev 6:3 - And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature

Who looked toward the west. Saying, Come - At each seal it was necessary to turn toward that quarter of the world which it more immediately concerned.

Wesley: Rev 6:4 - There went forth another horse that was red

A colour suitable to bloodshed.

Wesley: Rev 6:4 - And to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth

Vespasian, in the year 75, had dedicated a temple to Peace; but after a time we hear little more of peace. All is full of war and bloodshed, chiefly in the western world, where the main business of men seemed to be, to kill one another.

To this horseman there was given a great sword; and he had much to do with it; for as soon as Trajan ascended the throne, peace was taken from the earth. Decebalus, king of Dacia, which lies westward from Patmos, put the Romans to no small trouble. The war lasted five years, and consumed abundance of men on both sides; yet was only a prelude to much other bloodshed, which followed for a long season. All this was signified by the great sword, which strikes those who are near, as the bow does those who are at a distance.

Wesley: Rev 6:5 - And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature

Toward the south. Saying, Come.

Wesley: Rev 6:5 - And behold a black horse

A fit emblem of mourning and distress; particularly of black famine, as the ancient poets term it.

Wesley: Rev 6:5 - And he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand

When there is great plenty, men scarce think it worth their while to weigh and measure everything, Gen 41:49. But when there is scarcity, they are obliged to deliver them out by measure and weight, Eze 4:16. Accordingly, these scales signify scarcity. They serve also for a token, that all the fruits of the earth, and consequently the whole heavens, with their courses and influences; that all the seasons of the year, with whatsoever they produce, in nature or states, are subject to Christ. Accordingly his hand is wonderful, not only in wars and victories, but likewise in the whole course of nature.

Wesley: Rev 6:6 - And I heard a voice

It seems, from God himself.

Wesley: Rev 6:6 - Saying

To the horseman, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther." Let there be a measure of wheat for a penny - The word translated measure, was a Grecian measure, nearly equal to our quart. This was the daily allowance of a slave. The Roman penny, as much as a labourer then earned in a day, was about sevenpence halfpenny English. According to this, wheat would be near twenty shillings per bushel. This must have been fulfilled while the Grecian measure and the Roman money were still in use; as also where that measure was the common measure, and this money the current coin. It was so in Egypt under Trajan.

Wesley: Rev 6:6 - And three measures of barley for a penny

Either barley was, in common, far cheaper among the ancients than wheat, or the prophecy mentions this as something peculiar.

Wesley: Rev 6:6 - And hurt not the oil and the wine

Let there not be a scarcity of everything. Let there he some provision left to supply the want of the rest This was also fulfilled in the reign of Trajan, especially in Egypt, which lay southward from Patmos. In this country, which used to be the granary of the empire, there was an uncommon dearth at the very beginning of his reign; so that he was obliged to supply Egypt itself with corn from other countries. The same scarcity there was in the thirteenth year of his reign, the harvest failing for want of the rising of the Nile: and that not only in Egypt, but in all those other parts of Afric, where the Nile uses to overflow.

Wesley: Rev 6:7 - I heard the voice of the fourth living creature

Toward the north.

Wesley: Rev 6:8 - And I saw, and behold a pale horse

Suitable to pale death, his rider.

Wesley: Rev 6:8 - And hades

The representative of the state of separate souls.

Wesley: Rev 6:8 - Followeth even with him

The four first seals concern living men. Death therefore is properly introduced. Hades is only occasionally mentioned as a companion of death. So the fourth seal reaches to the borders of things invisible, which are comprised in the three last seals.

Wesley: Rev 6:8 - And power was given to him over the fourth part of the earth

What came single and in a lower degree before, comes now together, and much more severely. The first seal brought victory with it: in the second was "a great sword;" but here a scimitar. In the third was moderate dearth; here famine, and plague, and wild beasts beside. And it may well be, that from the time of Trajan downwards, the fourth part of men upon the earth, that is, within the Roman empire, died by sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. "At that time," says Aurelius Victor, "the Tyber overflowed much more fatally than under Nerva, with a great destruction of houses and there was a dreadful earthquake through many provinces, and a terrible plague and famine, and many places consumed by fire." By death - That is, by pestilence wild beasts have, at several times, destroyed abundance of men; and undoubtedly there was given them, at this time, an uncommon fierceness and strength. It is observable that war brings on scarcity, and scarcity pestilence, through want of wholesome sustenance; and pestilence, by depopulating the country, leaves the few survivors an easier prey to the wild beasts. And thus these judgments make way for one another in the order wherein they are here represented.

What has been already observed may be a fourfold proof that the four horsemen, as with their first entrance in the reign of Trajan, (which does by no means exhaust the contents of the four first seals,) so with all their entrances in succeeding ages, and with the whole course of the world and of visible nature, are in all ages subject to Christ, subsisting by his power, and serving his will, against the wicked, and in defence of the righteous. Herewith, likewise, a way is paved for the trumpets which regularly succeed each other; and the whole prophecy, as to what is future, is confirmed by the clear accomplishment of this part of it.

Wesley: Rev 6:9 - And when he opened the fifth seal

As the four former seals, so the three latter, have a close connexion with each other. These all refer to the invisible world; the fifth, to the happy dead, particularly the martyrs; the sixth, to the unhappy; the seventh, to the angels, especially those to whom the trumpets are given.

Wesley: Rev 6:9 - And I saw

Not only the church warring under Christ, and the world warring under Satan; but also the invisible hosts, both of heaven and hell, are described in this book. And it not only describes the actions of both these armies upon earth; but their respective removals from earth, into a more happy or more miserable state, succeeding each other at several times, distinguished by various degrees, celebrated by various thanksgivings; and also the gradual increase of expectation and triumph in heaven, and of terror and misery in hell.

Wesley: Rev 6:9 - Under the altar

That is, at the foot of it. Two altars are mentioned in the Revelation, "the golden altar" of incense, Rev 9:13; and the altar of burnt-offerings, mentioned here, and Rev 8:5, Rev 14:18, Rev 16:7. At this the souls of the martyrs now prostrate themselves. By and by their blood shall be avenged upon Babylon; but not yet, whence it appears that the plagues in the fourth seal do not concern Rome in particular.

Wesley: Rev 6:10 - And they cried

This cry did not begin now, but under the first Roman persecution. The Romans themselves had already avenged the martyrs slain by the Jews on that whole nation.

Wesley: Rev 6:10 - How long

They knew their blood would be avenged; but not immediately, as is now shown them.

Wesley: Rev 6:10 - O Lord

The Greek word properly signifies the master of a family: it is therefore beautifully used by these, who are peculiarly of the household of God.

Wesley: Rev 6:10 - Thou Holy One and true

Both the holiness and truth of God require him to execute judgment and vengeance.

Wesley: Rev 6:10 - Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?

There is no impure affection in heaven: therefore, this desire of theirs is pure and suitable to the will of God. The martyrs are concerned for the praise of their Master, of his holiness and truth: and the praise is given him, Rev 19:2, where the prayer of the martyrs is changed into a thanksgiving: Thou holy One and true: "True and right are thy judgments." How long dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? "He hath judged the great whore, and hath avenged the blood of his servants."

Wesley: Rev 6:11 - And there was given to every one a white robe

An emblem of innocence, joy, and victory, in token of honour and favourable acceptance.

Wesley: Rev 6:11 - And it was said to them

They were told how long. They were not left in that uncertainty.

Wesley: Rev 6:11 - That they should rest

Should cease from crying. They rested from pain before.

Wesley: Rev 6:11 - A time

This word has a peculiar meaning in this book, to denote which, we may retain the original word chronos. Here are two classes of martyrs specified, the former killed under heathen Rome, the latter, under papal Rome. The former are commanded to rest till the latter are added to them. There were many of the former in the days of John: the first fruits of the latter died in the thirteenth century. Now, a time, or chronos, is 1111 years. This chronos began A. C. 98, and continued to the year 1209; or from Trajan's persecution, to the first crusade against the Waldenses.

Wesley: Rev 6:11 - Till

It is not said, Immediately after this time is expired, vengeance shall be executed; but only, that immediately after this time their brethren and fellowservants will come to them. This event will precede the other; and there will be some space between.

Wesley: Rev 6:12 - And I saw

This sixth seal seems particularly to point out God's judgment on the wicked departed. St. John saw how the end of the world was even then set before those unhappy spirits. This representation might be made to them, without anything of it being perceived upon earth. The like representation is made in heaven, Rev 11:18.

Wesley: Rev 6:12 - And there was a great earthquake

Or shaking, not of the earth only, but the heavens. This is a farther description of the representation made to those unhappy souls.

Wesley: Rev 6:13 - And the stars fell to, or towards, the earth

Yea, and so they surely will, let astronomers fix their magnitude as they please. As a fig tree casteth its untimely figs, when it is shaken by a mighty wind - How sublimely is the violence of that shaking expressed by this comparison!

Wesley: Rev 6:14 - And the heavens departed as a book that is rolled together

When the scripture compares some very great with a little thing, the majesty and omnipotence of God, before whom great things are little, is highly exalted.

Wesley: Rev 6:14 - Every mountain and island

What a mountain is to the land, that an island is to the sea.

Wesley: Rev 6:15 - And the kings of the earth

They who had been so in their day.

Wesley: Rev 6:15 - And the great men and chief captains

The generals and nobles.

Wesley: Rev 6:15 - Hid themselves

So far as in them lay.

Wesley: Rev 6:15 - In the rocks of the mountains

There are also rocks on the plains; but they were rocks on high, which they besought to fall upon them.

Wesley: Rev 6:16 - To the mountains and the rocks

Which were tottering already, Rev 6:12.

Wesley: Rev 6:16 - Hide us from the face of him

Which "is against the ungodly," Psa 34:16.

JFB: Rev 6:1 - one of the seals

The oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, Vulgate, and Syriac read, "one of the seven seals."

JFB: Rev 6:1 - noise

The three oldest manuscripts read this in the nominative or dative, not the genitive, as English Version, "I heard one from among the four living creatures saying, as (it were) the voice (or, 'as with the voice') of thunder." The first living creature was like a lion (Rev 4:7): his voice is in consonance. Implying the lion-like boldness with which, in the successive great revivals, the faithful have testified for Christ, and especially a little before His coming shall testify. Or, rather, their earnestness in praying for Christ's coming.

JFB: Rev 6:1 - Come and see

One oldest manuscript, B, has "And see." But A, C, and Vulgate reject it. ALFORD rightly objects to English Version reading: "Whither was John to come? Separated as he was by the glassy sea from the throne, was he to cross it?" Contrast the form of expression, Rev 10:8. It is much more likely to be the cry of the redeemed to the Redeemer, "Come" and deliver the groaning creature from the bondage of corruption. Thus, Rev 6:2 is an answer to the cry, went (literally, "came") forth corresponding to "Come." "Come," says GROTIUS, is the living creature's address to John, calling his earnest attention. But it seems hard to see how "Come" by itself can mean this. Compare the only other places in Revelation where it is used, Rev 4:1; Rev 22:17. If the four living creatures represent the four Gospels, the "Come" will be their invitation to everyone (for it is not written that they addressed John) to accept Christ's salvation while there is time, as the opening of the seals marks a progressive step towards the end (compare Rev 22:17). Judgments are foretold as accompanying the preaching of the Gospel as a witness to all nations (Rev 14:6-11; Mat 24:6-14). Thus the invitation, "Come," here, is aptly parallel to Mat 24:14. The opening of the first four seals is followed by judgments preparatory for His coming. At the opening of the fifth seal, the martyrs above express the same (Rev 6:9-10; compare Zec 1:10). At the opening of the sixth seal, the Lord's coming is ushered in with terrors to the ungodly. At the seventh, the consummation is fully attained (Rev 11:15).

JFB: Rev 6:2

Evidently Christ, whether in person, or by His angel, preparatory to His coming again, as appears from Rev 19:11-12.

JFB: Rev 6:2 - bow

(Psa 45:4-5).

JFB: Rev 6:2 - crown

Greek, "stephanos," the garland or wreath of a conqueror, which is also implied by His white horse, white being the emblem of victory. In Rev 19:11-12 the last step in His victorious progress is represented; accordingly there He wears many diadems (Greek, "diademata"; not merely Greek, "stephanoi," "crowns" or "wreaths"), and is personally attended by the hosts of heaven. Compare Zec 1:7-17; Zec 6:1-8; especially Rev 6:10 below, with Zec 1:12; also compare the colors of the four horses.

JFB: Rev 6:2 - and to conquer

That is, so as to gain a lasting victory. All four seals usher in judgments on the earth, as the power which opposes the reign of Himself and His Church. This, rather than the work of conversion and conviction, is primarily meant, though doubtless, secondarily, the elect will be gathered out through His word and His judgments.

JFB: Rev 6:3 - and see

Omitted in the three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, and Vulgate.

JFB: Rev 6:4 - red

The color of blood. The color of the horse in each case answers to the mission of the rider. Compare Mat 10:24-36, "Think not I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword." The white horse of Christ's bloodless victories is soon followed, through man's perversion of the Gospel, by the red horse of bloodshed; but this is overruled to the clearing away of the obstacles to Christ's coming kingdom. The patient ox is the emblem of the second living creature who, at the opening of this seal, saith, "Come." The saints amidst judgments on the earth in patience "endure to the end."

JFB: Rev 6:4 - that they should kill

The Greek is indicative future, "that they may, as they also shall, kill one another."

JFB: Rev 6:5 - Come and see

The two oldest manuscripts, A, C, and Vulgate omit "and see." B retains the words.

JFB: Rev 6:5 - black

Implying sadness and want.

JFB: Rev 6:5 - had

Greek, "having."

JFB: Rev 6:5 - a pair of balances

The symbol of scarcity of provisions, the bread being doled out by weight.

JFB: Rev 6:6 - a voice

Two oldest manuscripts, A, C, read, "as it were a voice." B reads as English Version. The voice is heard "in the midst of the four living creatures" (as Jehovah in the Shekinah-cloud manifested His presence between the cherubim); because it is only for the sake of, and in connection with, His redeemed, that God mitigates His judgments on the earth.

JFB: Rev 6:6 - A measure

"A chœnix." While making food scarce, do not make it so much so that a chœnix (about a day's provision of wheat, variously estimated at two or three pints) shall not be obtainable "for a penny" (denarius, eight and a half pence of our money, probably the day's wages of a laborer). Famine generally follows the sword. Ordinarily, from sixteen to twenty measures were given for a denarius. The sword, famine, noisome beasts, and the pestilence, are God's four judgments on the earth. A spiritual famine, too, may be included in the judgment. The "Come," in the case of this third seal, is said by the third of the four living creatures, whose likeness is a man indicative of sympathy and human compassion for the sufferers. God in it tempers judgment with mercy. Compare Mat 24:7, which indicates the very calamities foretold in these seals, nation rising against nation (the sword), famines, pestilences (Rev 6:8), and earthquakes (Rev 6:12).

JFB: Rev 6:6 - three measures of barley for a penny

The cheaper and less nutritious grain, bought by the laborer who could not buy enough wheat for his family with his day's wages, a denarius, and, therefore, buys barley.

JFB: Rev 6:6 - see thou hurt not the oil, and the wine

The luxuries of life, rather than necessaries; the oil and wine were to be spared for the refreshment of the sufferers.

JFB: Rev 6:7 - and see

Supported by B; omitted by A, C, and Vulgate. The fourth living creature, who was "like a flying eagle," introduces this seal; implying high-soaring intelligence, and judgment descending from on high fatally on the ungodly, as the king of birds on his prey.

JFB: Rev 6:8 - pale

"livid" [ALFORD].

JFB: Rev 6:8 - Death

Personified.

JFB: Rev 6:8 - Hell

Hades personified.

JFB: Rev 6:8 - unto them

Death and Hades. So A, C read. But B and Vulgate read, "to him."

JFB: Rev 6:8 - fourth part of the earth

Answering to the first four seals; his portion as one of the four, being a fourth part.

JFB: Rev 6:8 - death

Pestilence; compare Eze 14:21 with the four judgments here, the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts; the famine the consequence of the sword; pestilence, that of famine; and beasts multiplying by the consequent depopulation.

JFB: Rev 6:8 - with the beasts

Greek, "by"; more direct agency. These four seals are marked off from the three last, by the four living creatures introducing them with "Come." The calamities indicated are not restricted to one time, but extend through the whole period of Church history to the coming of Christ, before which last great and terrible day of the Lord they shall reach highest aggravation. The first seal is the summary, Christ going forth conquering till all enemies are subdued under Him, with a view to which the judgments subsequently specified accompany the preaching of the Gospel for a witness to all nations.

JFB: Rev 6:9

The three last seals relate to the invisible, as the first four to the visible world; the fifth, to the martyrs who have died as believers; the sixth, to those who have died, or who shall be found at Christ's coming, unbelievers, namely, "the kings . . . great men . . . bondman . . . freeman"; the seventh, to the silence in heaven. The scene changes from earth to heaven; so that interpretations which make these three last consecutive to the first four seals, are very doubtful.

JFB: Rev 6:9 - I saw

In spirit. For souls are not naturally visible.

JFB: Rev 6:9 - under the altar

As the blood of sacrificial victims slain on the altar was poured at the bottom of the altar, so the souls of those sacrificed for Christ's testimony are symbolically represented as under the altar, in heaven; for the life or animal soul is in the blood, and blood is often represented as crying for vengeance (Gen 4:10). The altar in heaven, antitypical to the altar of sacrifice, is Christ crucified. As it is the altar that sanctifies the gift, so it is Christ alone who makes our obedience, and even our sacrifice of life for the truth, acceptable to God. The sacrificial altar was not in the sanctuary, but outside; so Christ's literal sacrifice and the figurative sacrifice of the martyrs took place, not in the heavenly sanctuary, but outside, here on earth. The only altar in heaven is that antitypical to the temple altar of incense. The blood of the martyrs cries from the earth under Christ's cross, whereon they may be considered virtually to have been sacrificed; their souls cry from under the altar of incense, which is Christ in heaven, by whom alone the incense of praise is accepted before God. They are under Christ, in His immediate presence, shut up unto Him in joyful eager expectancy until He shall come to raise the sleeping dead. Compare the language of 2 Maccabees 7:36 as indicating Jewish opinion on the subject. Our brethren who have now suffered a short pain are dead under (Greek) God's covenant of everlasting life.

JFB: Rev 6:9 - testimony which they held

That is, which they bore, as committed to them to bear. Compare Rev 12:17, "Have (same Greek as here) the testimony of Jesus."

JFB: Rev 6:10 - How long

Greek, "Until when?" As in the parable the woman (symbol of the Church) cries day and night to the unjust judge for justice against her adversary who is always oppressing her (compare below, Rev 12:10); so the elect (not only on earth, but under Christ's covering, and in His presence in Paradise) cry day and night to God, who will assuredly, in His own time, avenge His and their cause, "though He bear long with them." These passages need not be restricted to some particular martyrdoms, but have been, and are receiving, and shall receive partial fulfilments, until their last exhaustive fulfilment before Christ's coming. So as to the other events foretold here. The glory even of those in Paradise will only be complete when Christ's and the Church's foes are cast out, and the earth will become Christ's kingdom at His coming to raise the sleeping saints.

JFB: Rev 6:10 - Lord

Greek, "Master"; implying that He has them and their foes and all His creatures as absolutely at His disposal, as a master has his slaves; hence, in Rev 6:11, "fellow servants," or fellow slaves follows.

JFB: Rev 6:10 - holy

Greek, "the Holy one."

JFB: Rev 6:10 - avenge

"exact vengeance for our blood."

JFB: Rev 6:10 - on

Greek, "from them."

JFB: Rev 6:10 - that dwell on the earth

The ungodly, of earth, earthly, as distinguished from the Church, whose home and heart are even now in heavenly places.

JFB: Rev 6:11 - white robes

The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, read, "A white robe was given."

JFB: Rev 6:11 - every one of

One oldest manuscript, B, omits this. A and C read, "unto them, unto each," that is, unto them severally. Though their joint cry for the riddance of the earth from the ungodly is not yet granted, it is intimated that it will be so in due time; meanwhile, individually they receive the white robe, indicative of light, joy, and triumphant victory over their foes; even as the Captain of their salvation goes forth on a white horse conquering and to conquer; also of purity and sanctity through Christ. MAIMONIDES says that the Jews used to array priests, when approved of, in white robes; thus the sense is, they are admitted among the blessed ones, who, as spotless priests, minister unto God and the Lamb.

JFB: Rev 6:11 - should

So C reads. But A and B, "shall rest."

JFB: Rev 6:11 - a little season

One oldest manuscript, B, omits "little." A and C support it. Even if it be omitted, is it to be inferred that the "season" is short as compared with eternity? BENGEL fancifully made a season (Greek, "chronus," the word here used) to be one thousand one hundred and eleven one-ninth years, and a time (Rev 12:12, Rev 12:14, Greek, "kairos") to be a fifth of a season, that is, two hundred and twenty-two two-ninths years. The only distinction in the Greek is, a season (Greek, "chronus") is a sort of aggregate of times. Greek, "kairos," a specific time, and so of short duration. As to their rest, compare Rev 14:13 (the same Greek, "anapauomai"); Isa 57:2; Dan 12:13.

JFB: Rev 6:11 - until their . . . brethren . . . be fulfilled

In number. Until their full number shall have been completed. The number of the elect is definitely fixed: perhaps to fill up that of the fallen angels. But this is mere conjecture. The full blessedness and glory of all the saints shall be simultaneous. The earlier shall not anticipate the later saints. A and C read, "shall have been accomplished"; B and Aleph read, "shall have accomplished (their course)."

JFB: Rev 6:12

As Rev 6:4, Rev 6:6-8, the sword, famine, and pestilence, answer to Mat 24:6-7; Rev 6:9-10, as to martyrdoms, answer to Mat 24:9-10; so this passage, Rev 6:12, Rev 6:17, answers to Mat 24:29-30, "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven; . . . then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming"; imagery describing the portents of the immediate coming of the day of the Lord; but not the coming itself until the elect are sealed, and the judgments invoked by the martyrs descend on the earth, the sea, and the trees (Rev 7:1-3).

JFB: Rev 6:12 - and, lo

So A reads. But B and C omit "lo."

JFB: Rev 6:12 - earthquake

Greek, "shaking" of the heavens, the sea, and the dry land; the shaking of these mutable things being the necessary preliminary to the setting up of those things which cannot be shaken. This is one of the catchwords [WORDSWORTH] connecting the sixth seal with the sixth trumpet (Rev 11:13) and the seventh vial (Rev 16:17-21); also the seventh seal (Rev 8:5).

JFB: Rev 6:12 - sackcloth

One kind, made of the "hair" of Cilician goats, was called "cilicium," or Cilician cloth, and was used for tents, &c. Paul, a Cilician, made such tents (Act 18:3).

JFB: Rev 6:12 - moon

A, B, C, and oldest versions read, "the whole moon"; the full moon; not merely the crescent moon.

JFB: Rev 6:12 - as blood

(Joe 2:31).

JFB: Rev 6:13 - stars . . . fell . . . as a fig tree casteth her . . . figs

(Isa 34:4; Nah 3:12). The Church shall be then ripe for glorification, the Antichristian world for destruction, which shall be accompanied with mighty phenomena in nature. As to the stars falling to the earth, Scripture describes natural phenomena as they would appear to the spectator, not in the language of scientific accuracy; and yet, while thus adapting itself to ordinary men, it drops hints which show that it anticipates the discoveries of modern science.

JFB: Rev 6:14 - departed

Greek, "was separated from" its place; "was made to depart." Not as ALFORD, "parted asunder"; for, on the contrary, it was rolled together as a scroll which had been open is rolled up and laid aside. There is no "asunder one from another" here in the Greek, as in Act 15:39, which ALFORD copies.

JFB: Rev 6:14 - mountain . . . moved out of . . . places

(Psa 121:1, Margin; Jer 3:23; Jer 4:24; Nah 1:5). This total disruption shall be the precursor of the new earth, just as the pre-Adamic convulsions prepared it for its present occupants.

JFB: Rev 6:15 - kings . . . hid themselves

Where was now the spirit of those whom the world has so greatly feared? [BENGEL].

JFB: Rev 6:15 - great men

Statesmen and high civil officers.

JFB: Rev 6:15 - rich men . . . chief captains

The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, transpose thus, "chief captains . . . rich men."

JFB: Rev 6:15 - mighty

The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, and C read, "strong" physically (Psa 33:16).

JFB: Rev 6:15 - in

Literally "into"; ran into, so as to hide themselves in.

JFB: Rev 6:15 - dens

"caves."

JFB: Rev 6:16 - from the face

(Psa 34:16). On the whole verse, compare Hos 10:8; Luk 23:30.

JFB: Rev 6:17

Literally, "the day, the great (day)," which can only mean the last great day. After the Lord has exhausted all His ordinary judgments, the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, and still sinners are impenitent, the great day of the Lord itself' shall come. Mat. 24:6-29 plainly forms a perfect parallelism to the six seals, not only in the events, but also in the order of their occurrence: Mat 24:3, the first seal; Mat 24:6, the second seal; Mat 24:7, the third seal; Mat 24:7, end, the fourth seal; Mat 24:9, the fifth seal, the persecutions and abounding iniquity under which, as well as consequent judgments accompanied with gospel preaching to all nations as a witness, are particularly detailed, Mat. 24:9-28; Mat 24:29, the sixth seal.

JFB: Rev 6:17 - to stand

To stand justified, and not condemned before the Judge. Thus the sixth seal brings us to the verge of the Lord's coming. The ungodly "tribes of the earth" tremble at the signs of His immediate approach. But before He actually inflicts the blow in person, "the elect" must be "gathered "out.

Clarke: Rev 6:1 - When the Lamb opened one of the seals

When the Lamb opened one of the seals - It is worthy of remark that the opening of the seals is not merely a declaration of what God will do, but is the exhibition of a purpose then accomplished; for whenever the seal is opened, the sentence appears to be executed. It is supposed that, from Revelation 6:1-11:19, the calamities which should fall on the enemies of Christianity, and particularly the Jews, are pointed out under various images, as well as the preservation of the Christians under those calamities

Clarke: Rev 6:1 - One of the four beasts

One of the four beasts - Probably that with the face of a lion. See Rev 4:7

Clarke: Rev 6:1 - Come and see

Come and see - Attend to what is about to be exhibited. It is very likely that all was exhibited before his eyes as in a scene, and he saw every act represented which was to take place, and all the persons and things which were to be the chief actors.

Clarke: Rev 6:2 - A white horse

A white horse - Supposed to represent the Gospel system, and pointing out its excellence, swiftness, and purity

Clarke: Rev 6:2 - He that sat on him

He that sat on him - Supposed to represent Jesus Christ

Clarke: Rev 6:2 - A bow

A bow - The preaching of the Gospel, darting conviction into the hearts of sinners

Clarke: Rev 6:2 - A crown

A crown - The emblem of the kingdom which Christ is to establish on earth

Clarke: Rev 6:2 - Conquering, and to conquer

Conquering, and to conquer - Overcoming and confounding the Jews first, and then the Gentiles; spreading more and more the doctrine and influence of the cross over the face of the earth.

Clarke: Rev 6:3 - The second beast

The second beast - That which had the face of an ox.

Clarke: Rev 6:4 - Another horse - red

Another horse - red - The emblem of war; perhaps also of severe persecution, and the martyrdom of the saints

Clarke: Rev 6:4 - Him that sat thereon

Him that sat thereon - Same say, Christ; others, Vespasian; others, the Roman armies; others, Artabanus, king of the Parthians, etc., etc

Clarke: Rev 6:4 - Take peace from the earth

Take peace from the earth - To deprive Judea of all tranquillity

Clarke: Rev 6:4 - They should kill one another

They should kill one another - This was literally the case with the Jews, while besieged by the Romans

Clarke: Rev 6:4 - A great sword

A great sword - Great influence and success, producing terrible carnage.

Clarke: Rev 6:5 - The third beast

The third beast - That which had the face of a man

Clarke: Rev 6:5 - A black horse

A black horse - The emblem of famine. Some think that which took place under Claudius. See Mat 24:7; the same which was predicted by Agabus, Act 11:28

Clarke: Rev 6:5 - A pair of balances

A pair of balances - To show that the scarcity would be such, that every person must be put under an allowance.

Clarke: Rev 6:6 - A measure of wheat for a penny

A measure of wheat for a penny - The chaenix here mentioned was a measure of dry things; and although the capacity is not exactly known, yet it is generally agreed that it contained as much as one man could consume in a day; and a penny, the Roman denarius, was the ordinary pay of a laborer. So it appears that in this scarcity each might be able to obtain a bare subsistence by his daily labor; but a man could not, in such cases, provide for a family

Clarke: Rev 6:6 - Three measures of barley

Three measures of barley - This seems to have been the proportion of value between the wheat and the barley. Barley was allowed to afford a poor aliment, and was given to the Roman soldiers instead of wheat, by way of punishment

Clarke: Rev 6:6 - Hurt not the oil and the wine

Hurt not the oil and the wine - Be sparing of these: use them not as delicacies, but for necessity; because neither the vines nor the olives will be productive.

Clarke: Rev 6:7 - The fourth beast

The fourth beast - That which had the face of an eagle.

Clarke: Rev 6:8 - A pale horse

A pale horse - The symbol of death. Pallida mors , pale death, was a very usual poetic epithet; of this symbol there can be no doubt, because it is immediately said, His name that sat on him was Death

Clarke: Rev 6:8 - And hell followed with him

And hell followed with him - The grave, or state of the dead, received the slain. This is a very elegant prosopopaeia, or personification

Clarke: Rev 6:8 - Over the fourth part of the earth

Over the fourth part of the earth - One fourth of mankind was to feel the desolating effects of this seal

Clarke: Rev 6:8 - To kill with sword

To kill with sword - War; with hunger - Famine; with death - Pestilence; and with the beasts of the earth - lions, tigers, hyenas, etc., which would multiply in consequence of the devastations occasioned by war, famine, and pestilence.

Clarke: Rev 6:9 - The fifth seal

The fifth seal - There is no animal nor any other being to introduce this seal, nor does there appear to be any new event predicted; but the whole is intended to comfort the followers of God under their persecutions, and to encourage them to bear up under their distresses

Clarke: Rev 6:9 - I saw under the altar

I saw under the altar - A symbolical vision was exhibited, in which he saw an altar; and under it the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God - martyred for their attachment to Christianity, are represented as being newly slain as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in heaven.

Clarke: Rev 6:10 - And they cried with a loud voice

And they cried with a loud voice - That is, their blood, like that of Abel, cried for vengeance; for we are not to suppose that there was any thing like a vindictive spirit in those happy and holy souls who had shed their blood for the testimony of Jesus. We sometimes say Blood cries for blood; that is, in the order of Divine justice, every murderer, and every murdering persecutor, shall be punished

Clarke: Rev 6:10 - O Lord

O Lord - Ὁ Δεσποτης· Sovereign Lord, supreme Ruler; one having and exercising unlimited and uncontrolled authority

Clarke: Rev 6:10 - Holy

Holy - In thy own nature, hating iniquity

Clarke: Rev 6:10 - And true

And true - In all thy promises and threatenings

Clarke: Rev 6:10 - Dost thou not judge

Dost thou not judge - The persecutors

Clarke: Rev 6:10 - And avenge our blood

And avenge our blood - Inflict signal punishment

Clarke: Rev 6:10 - On them that dwell on the earth?

On them that dwell on the earth? - Probably meaning the persecuting Jews; they dwelt επι της γης, upon that land, a form of speech by which Judea is often signified in the New Testament.

Clarke: Rev 6:11 - White robes

White robes - The emblems of purity, innocence, and triumph

Clarke: Rev 6:11 - They should rest yet for a little season

They should rest yet for a little season - This is a declaration that, when the cup of the iniquity of the Jews should be full, they should then be punished in a mass. They were determined to proceed farther, and God permits them so to do; reserving the fullness of their punishment till they had filled up the measure of their iniquity. If this book was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, as is most likely, then this destruction is that which was to fall upon the Jews; and the little time or season was that which elapsed between their martyrdom, or the date of this book, and the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, under Vespasian and his son Titus, about a.d. 70. What follows may refer to the destruction of the heathen Roman empire.

Clarke: Rev 6:12 - The sixth seal

The sixth seal - This seal also is opened and introduced by Jesus Christ alone

Clarke: Rev 6:12 - A great earthquake

A great earthquake - A most stupendous change in the civil and religious constitution of the world. If it refer to Constantine the Great, the change that was made by his conversion to Christianity might be very properly represented under the emblem of an earthquake, and the other symbols mentioned in this and the following verses

The sun - the ancient pagan government of the Roman empire, was totally darkened; and, like a black hair sackcloth, was degraded and humbled to the dust

The moon - the ecclesiastical state of the same empire, became as blood - was totally ruined, their sacred rites abrogated, their priests and religious institutions desecrated, their altars cast down, their temples destroyed, or turned into places for Christian worship.

Clarke: Rev 6:13 - The stars of heaven

The stars of heaven - The gods and goddesses, demi-gods, and deified heroes, of their poetical and mythological heaven, were prostrated indiscriminately, and lay as useless as the figs or fruit of a tree shaken down before ripe by a tempestuous wind.

Clarke: Rev 6:14 - And the heaven departed as a scroll

And the heaven departed as a scroll - The whole system of pagan and idolatrous worship, with all its spiritual, secular, and superstitious influence, was blasted, shrivelled up, and rendered null and void, as a parchment scroll when exposed to the action of a strong fire

Clarke: Rev 6:14 - And every mountain

And every mountain - All the props, supports, and dependencies of the empire, whether regal allies, tributary kings, dependent colonies, or mercenary troops, were all moved out of their places, so as to stand no longer in the same relation to that empire, and its worship, support, and maintenance, as they formerly did

Clarke: Rev 6:14 - And island

And island - The heathen temples, with their precincts and enclosures, cut off from the common people, and into which none could come but the privileged, may be here represented by islands, for the same reasons.

Clarke: Rev 6:15 - The kings of the earth, etc.

The kings of the earth, etc. - All the secular powers who had endeavored to support the pagan worship by authority, influence, riches, political wisdom, and military skill; with every bondman - all slaves, who were in life and limb addicted to their masters or owners

Clarke: Rev 6:15 - And every freeman

And every freeman - Those who had been manumitted, commonly called freedmen, and who were attached, through gratitude, to the families of their liberators. All hid themselves - were astonished at the total overthrow of the heathen empire, and the revolution which had then taken place.

Clarke: Rev 6:16 - Said to the mountains and rocks

Said to the mountains and rocks - Expressions which denote the strongest perturbation and alarm. They preferred any kind of death to that which they apprehended from this most awful revolution

Clarke: Rev 6:16 - From the face of him that sitteth on the throne

From the face of him that sitteth on the throne - They now saw that all these terrible judgments came from the Almighty; and that Christ, the author of Christianity, was now judging, condemning, and destroying them for their cruel persecutions of his followers.

Clarke: Rev 6:17 - For the great day of his wrath

For the great day of his wrath - The decisive and manifest time in which he will execute judgment on the oppressors of his people

Clarke: Rev 6:17 - Who shall be able to stand?

Who shall be able to stand? - No might can prevail against the might of God. All these things may literally apply to the final destruction of Jerusalem, and to the revolution which took place in the Roman empire under Constantine the Great. Some apply them to the day of judgment; but they do not seem to have that awful event in view. These two events were the greatest that have ever taken place in the world, from the flood to the eighteenth century of the Christian era; and may well justify the strong figurative language used above

Through I do not pretend to say that my remarks on this chapter point out its true signification, yet I find others have applied it in the same way. Dr. Dodd observes that the fall of Babylon, Idumea, Judah, Egypt, and Jerusalem, has been described by the prophets in language equally pompous, figurative, and strong. See Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4, concerning Babylon and Idumea; Jer 4:23, Jer 4:24, concerning Judah; Eze 32:7, concerning Egypt; Joe 2:10, Joe 2:31, concerning Jerusalem; and our Lord himself, Mat 24:29, concerning the same city. "Now,"says he, "it is certain that the fall of any of these cities or kingdoms was not of greater concern or consequence to the world, nor more deserving to be described in pompous figures, than the fall of the pagan Roman empire, when the great lights of the heathen world, the sun, moon, and stars, the powers civil and ecclesiastical, were all eclipsed and obscured, the heathen emperors and Caesars were slain, the heathen priests and augurs were extirpated, the heathen officers and magistrates were removed, the temples were demolished, and their revenues were devoted to better uses. It is customary with the prophets, after they have described a thing in the most symbolical and figurative manner, to represent the same again in plainer language; and the same method is observed here, Rev 6:15-17 : And the kings of the earth, etc. That is, Maximin, Galerius, Maxentius, Licinius, etc., with all their adherents and followers, were so routed and dispersed that they hid themselves in dens, etc.; expressions used to denote the utmost terror and confusion. This is, therefore, a triumph of Christ over his heathen enemies, and a triumph after a severe persecution; so that the time and all the circumstances, as well as the series and order of the prophecy, agree perfectly with this interpretation. Galerius, Maximin, and Licinius, made even a public confession of their guilt, recalled their decrees and edicts against the Christians, and acknowledged the just judgments of God and of Christ in their own destruction."See Newton, Lowman, etc., and Dr. Dodd on this chapter, with the works of several more recent authors.

Defender: Rev 6:1 - one of the seals

The Lamb had received the title deed to the earth, but now the seals must be broken and the full writing disclosed to the world. As each successive seal is broken, the Lord will unleash successive great judgments on the earth, with the ultimate end of purging the earth of its age-long domination by Satan.

Defender: Rev 6:1 - Come and see

Certain manuscripts omit the words "and see," but the weight of manuscript evidence favors their retention. The first four judgments mark the sending forth of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and, as each emerges, one of the four "living ones" invites John to "come and see." John, who had been commanded to write what he saw (Rev 1:11), then immediately responds: "And I saw [beheld, looked] ..." (Rev 6:2, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:8, Rev 6:9, Rev 6:12)."

Defender: Rev 6:2 - he that sat on him

Many futurist commentators interpret the rider on the white horse to be the Antichrist, who they say is seeking to imitate Christ as he appears as the conquering Rider on the white horse in Rev 19:11. This interpretation seems inappropriate. The coming Antichrist is not a "false Christ," pretending to be Christ, but the ultimate Antichrist, openly opposing Christ and seeking to destroy all Christian believers and everything for which Christ stands. The Antichrist, or Beast, will receive his power and authority from Satan (Rev 11:7; Rev 13:7).

The proper interpretation is to view Christ as the rider; remember that each judgment of the seven seals is sent forth by Christ, not Satan. Furthermore, it is eminently fitting that the conquering Christ should be seen as riding forth both at the beginning of His cleansing judgments on the earth, and then again at their climactic completion (Rev 6:2; Rev 19:11). Throughout the events of Revelation 6 through 19, as the successive seal judgments are sent forth, He is gradually "conquering" and is destined finally "to conquer" completely."

Defender: Rev 6:4 - peace from the earth

This judgment correlates to 1Th 5:3 : "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them ... and they shall not escape." There is little peace in the world today, with local wars or guerrilla activities in some fifty different nations, not to mention record violent crime in schools and on the streets. The world is urgently looking for a world leader who can bring real peace to the earth. When the Antichrist comes, he will do just that but only for a very brief period. When the red horse rides, wars, crime and anarchy will fill the earth as never before in history because the restraining influence of Christians in the world will have been removed by the rapture (see note on 2Th 2:1-12)."

Defender: Rev 6:5 - balances in his hand

The black horse speaks of worldwide famine. This will be the period of the two witnesses (Rev 11:3-6), who will proclaim on the earth that these plagues are being sent by God from heaven. In particular, they will proclaim a worldwide drought for the 3 1/2 years of their testimony, and this will soon lead to worldwide famine, more severe than any famine in history."

Defender: Rev 6:6 - penny

This voice from heaven is apparently making ironic commentary on the earthly situation. The "penny" is the denarius , which represented a day's wage for a laborer. As the famine progresses, the cost of the necessary commodities of life will rise excessively, probably leading to widespread starvation. The "oil and wine," however, as luxuries of little food value, will still be plentiful for the indulgences of the rich. In fact, "oil" may refer prophetically to petroleum, even though this substance was not known in the New Testament period. Middle Eastern supplies of oil may become vital to the establishment of the Antichrist's world empire."

Defender: Rev 6:8 - pale horse

The "pale" horse is actually "green" (Greek chloros), the same word used for "green grass" in Rev 8:7. This also may be divine irony; green is normally associated with life, but the green horse is now ridden by Death.

Defender: Rev 6:8 - Hell

The Lord Jesus Christ now has the keys to Death and Hell, according to His assertion in Rev 1:18. So it is clear that this fourth horseman, like the others, is unleashed by Him to judge the earth. Those who yield to the killing sword of the second horseman and the starvation brought by the third will be overtaken by Death, and Hades will swallow up their souls. There also will be many other causes of death (pestilence, suicide), so that a quarter of the world's population will die in the first year or two of the seven-year period of tribulation. This will amount to at least a billion people.

Defender: Rev 6:8 - beasts

The word for "beasts" here is theerion, meaning "wild beasts." It is quite different from zoon, the word translated as beasts in Rev 4:1-11. It could suggest a proliferation of venomous snakes during this period. However, it is the same word used for "beast" in describing the coming Antichrist and his false prophet (Rev 13:2, Rev 13:11), so it could well refer to the fierce persecutions that will be carried out during this time by various regional dictators, all of whom will eventually yield their power to the Satan-possessed Beast, the most wicked and ruthless of all (Eze 14:21; Rev 13:7; Rev 17:13; Rev 20:13)."

Defender: Rev 6:9 - under the altar the souls

Like the blood of the sacrifices under the ancient altar in the tabernacle (Lev 4:18), the souls of those new believers slain in these early years of the tribulation are seen as under the altar in the heavenly tabernacle (Heb 9:2-9).

Defender: Rev 6:9 - slain for the word of God

Even though all believers will have been removed from the earth before the unleashing of these divine judgments, there will still be an abundance of silent witnesses. Remaining on earth will be Bibles, Christian literature, Christian films and tapes, etc., as well as the eternal witness in creation and conscience, plus the testimony of the two witnesses (Rev 11:3-7), and the 144,000 sealed Israelites (Rev 7:1-8). "When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isa 26:9)."

Defender: Rev 6:12 - as blood

While the inhabitants of the earth are still suffering under the famines, plagues and violence of the earlier seal judgments, a great physical cataclysm will suddenly strike. For the first time in history, a global earthquake will convulse the earth, accompanied by tremendous volcanic eruptions, spewing vast quantities of dust particles into the upper atmosphere, turning the appearance of the sun into darkness and the moon blood-red. Note also that several Old Testament prophecies of the coming "day of the Lord" apparently predict the same catastrophe (Joe 2:30, Joe 2:31; Zep 1:15; Isa 13:9, Isa 13:10). Very little is known about the triggering causes of earthquakes, but they are attributed to great rock faults and tectonic instabilities. Perhaps occasioned in part by the worldwide droughts and falling water levels resulting from the earlier judgments, this global network of faults will somehow coalesce into one gigantic "shaking" of the whole earth (the Greek word for "earthquake" is seismos, which literally means "shaking" in this connection (Isa 2:19-21; Isa 13:13; Hag 2:6)."

Defender: Rev 6:13 - stars of heaven fell

The Greek word for "star" (iaster) can mean any object in the heavens, including planets, asteroids and meteorites. Planetary scientists have long been concerned with the possibility that a swarm of asteroids or giant meteorites would collide with the earth in its orbit, and that seems to be what John describes here. Perhaps this also is part of the trigger which unleashes the great earthquake. Isaiah says that when this happens, "the host of heaven shall be dissolved," and that "the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light" (Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4), evidently blotted out by the same volcanic dust cloud that darkens the sun."

Defender: Rev 6:14 - departed as a scroll

This strange phenomenon (also predicted in Isa 34:4) may relate to the moving cloud of volcanic dust as it is rapidly carried across the sky, but an alternate possibility is that the global earthquake will cause the entire crust of the earth to shift, causing "every mountain and island" to be "moved out of their places" and the sky itself to appear to those on the earth's surface to "depart.""

Defender: Rev 6:15 - kings of the earth

Contrast the attitude of "the kings of the earth" mentioned in Psa 2:2 to their positions presented here in Revelation.

Defender: Rev 6:15 - hid themselves

See Isa 2:19."

Defender: Rev 6:16 - wrath of the Lamb

By this time, the people on earth will begin to realize that the great judgments are from God and the Lamb. God's witnesses will have been proclaiming this fact, and this may even have been "the testimony" of the martyrs (Rev 6:9) which led to their being put to death. Some conjecture that orbiting satellites will be transmitting scenes to earth showing the great assemblage high in the atmospheric heavens and the events taking place there at the throne of the Lamb."

Defender: Rev 6:17 - day of his wrath

The "great day of His wrath" constitutes the initial phase of "the day of the Lord" prophesied in many of the Old Testament Scriptures (Isa 13:9; Joe 1:15; Amo 5:18)."

TSK: Rev 6:1 - when // the noise // one

when : Rev 5:5-7

the noise : Rev 4:5, Rev 10:3, Rev 10:4, Rev 11:19

one : Rev 6:3, Rev 6:5, Rev 6:7, Rev 4:6, Rev 4:7; Act 4:20

TSK: Rev 6:2 - a white // and he that // and a // and he went

a white : This seems to be a representation of the person and dignity of Christ, and the mild and beneficent triumphs of his Gospel over all the powers of paganism. Rev 19:11, Rev 19:14; Zec 1:8, Zec 6:3-8

and he that : Psa 45:3-5, Psa 76:7

and a : Rev 14:14, Rev 19:12; Zec 6:11-13; Mat 28:18

and he went : Rev 11:15, Rev 11:18, Rev 15:2, Rev 17:14; Psa 98:1, Psa 110:2; Isa 25:8; Rom 15:18, Rom 15:19; 1Co 15:25, 1Co 15:55-57; 2Co 10:3-5

TSK: Rev 6:3

Rev 6:1, Rev 4:7

TSK: Rev 6:4 - horse // power // and there

horse : Rev 12:3, Rev 17:3, Rev 17:6; Zec 1:8, Zec 6:2

power : Rev 13:10; Exo 9:16, Exo 9:17; Isa 37:26, Isa 37:27; Eze 29:18-20; Dan 2:37, Dan 2:38, Dan 5:19; Joh 19:11

and there : Psa 17:13; Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6; Eze 30:24, Eze 30:25

TSK: Rev 6:5 - he had // a black // had

he had : Rev 6:1, Rev 4:6, Rev 4:7, Rev 5:5, Rev 5:9

a black : Zec 6:2, Zec 6:6

had : Lev 26:26; Lam 5:10; Eze 4:10,Eze 4:16

TSK: Rev 6:6 - A measure // and see

A measure : ""The word choenix signifieth a measure containing one wine-quart and the twelfth part of a quart."

and see : Rev 9:4; Psa 76:10

TSK: Rev 6:7

Rev 6:1, Rev 6:3, Rev 6:5, Rev 4:7

TSK: Rev 6:8 - pale // was Death // unto them // over // kill

pale : Zec 6:3

was Death : Rev 20:13, Rev 20:14; Isa 25:8; Hos 13:14; Hab 2:5; 1Co 15:55 *marg.

unto them : or, to him

over : Rev 8:7-12, Rev 9:15, Rev 9:18, Rev 12:4

kill : Lev 26:22-33; Jer 15:2, Jer 15:3, Jer 16:4, Jer 16:16, Jer 43:11; Eze 5:15-17, Eze 14:13-21

TSK: Rev 6:9 - I saw // the souls // slain

I saw : Rev 8:3, Rev 9:13, Rev 14:18; Lev 4:7; Joh 16:2 *Gr: Phi 2:17; 2Ti 4:6

the souls : Rev 20:4; 2Co 5:8; Phi 1:23

slain : Rev 1:9, Rev 2:13, Rev 11:3-7, Rev 12:11-17, Rev 19:10; 2Ti 1:8

TSK: Rev 6:10 - they cried // How // holy // dost // avenge

they cried : Gen 4:10; Psa 9:12; Luk 18:7, Luk 18:8; Heb 12:24

How : Psa 13:1, Psa 35:17, Psa 74:9, Psa 74:10, Psa 94:3, Psa 94:4; Dan 8:13, Dan 12:6; Zec 1:12

holy : Rev 3:7, Rev 15:3, Rev 15:4

dost : Rev 11:18, Rev 16:5-7, Rev 18:20,Rev 18:24, Rev 19:2; Deu 32:36-43; Jdg 16:28; 1Sa 24:12; Psa 58:10,Psa 58:11; Isa 61:2, Isa 63:1-6; Luk 21:22; Rom 12:19; 2Th 1:6-8

avenge : This seal seems a prediction of the terrible persecution of the church under Dioclesian and Maximian, from ad 270 to 304, which lasted longer, and was far more bloody, than any or all by which it was preceded, whence it was called ""the era of the martyrs.""

TSK: Rev 6:11 - white // that they // until

white : Rev 3:4, Rev 3:5, Rev 7:9, Rev 7:14

that they : Rev 14:13; Isa 26:20,Isa 26:21; Dan 12:13

until : Rev 7:14, Rev 13:15, Rev 17:6; Mat 10:21, Mat 23:34, Mat 23:35; Joh 16:2; Heb 11:40

TSK: Rev 6:12 - there // the sun

there : Rev 8:5, Rev 11:13, Rev 16:18; 1Ki 19:11-13; Isa 29:6; Amo 1:1; Zec 14:5; Mat 24:7; Mat 27:54, Mat 28:2

the sun : Isa 13:9, Isa 13:10, Isa 24:23, Isa 60:19, Isa 60:20; Eze 32:7, Eze 32:8; Joe 2:10,Joe 2:30,Joe 2:31, Joe 3:15; Amo 8:9; Hag 2:6, Hag 2:7, Hag 2:21, Hag 2:22; Mat 24:29, Mat 27:45; Mar 13:24, Mar 13:25, Mar 15:33; Luk 23:44, Luk 23:45; Act 2:19, Act 2:20

TSK: Rev 6:13 - the stars // untimely figs // of a

the stars : Rev 8:10-12, Rev 9:1; Eze 32:7; Dan 8:10; Luk 21:25

untimely figs : or green figs

of a : Isa 7:2, Isa 33:9; Dan 4:14; Nah 3:12

TSK: Rev 6:14 - the heaven // and every

the heaven : Psa 102:26; Isa 34:4; Heb 1:11-13; 2Pe 3:10

and every : Rev 16:20; Isa 2:14-17; Jer 3:23, Jer 4:23-26, Jer 51:25; Hab 3:6, Hab 3:10

TSK: Rev 6:15 - the kings // hid

the kings : Rev 18:9-11, Rev 19:13-21; Job 34:19, Job 34:20; Psa 2:10-12, Psa 49:1, Psa 49:2, Psa 76:12, Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6; Isa 24:21, Isa 24:22

hid : Jos 10:16, Jos 10:17; Jdg 6:2; 1Sa 13:6; Isa 2:10,Isa 2:19, Isa 42:22; Mic 7:17; Heb 11:38

TSK: Rev 6:16 - Fall // the face // and from

Fall : Rev 10:6; Jer 8:3; Hos 10:8; Luk 23:30

the face : Rev 4:2, Rev 4:5, Rev 4:9, Rev 20:11

and from : Rev 6:10, Rev 19:15; Psa 2:9-12, Psa 14:5, Psa 21:8-12, Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6; Zec 1:14, Zec 1:15; Mat 26:64; 2Th 1:7-9

TSK: Rev 6:17 - the great // who

the great : Rev 11:18, Rev 16:14; Isa. 13:6-22; Jer 30:7; Joe 2:31; Zep 1:14-18; Rom 2:5; Jud 1:6

who : Psa 76:7, Psa 130:3, Psa 130:4; Joe 2:11; Mal 3:2

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Rev 6:1 - Chapter Introduction // one of the seals // the noise of thunder

Rev 6:1-17 The opening of six of the seals in order, and what followed thereupon.

Chapter Introduction

We are now come to the prophetical, and therefore the most difficult, part of this mysterious book; as to which I judge it reasonable, before we come to open the mysterious text, (after Mr. Pool’ s method in his Latin Synopsis), to premise some things which may instruct the reader of these notes, both of the things wherein the difficulties lie, and of the fairest way to find out the sense of them. Hitherto we have met with no great difficulties; what have been, have been chiefly:

1. Concerning the seven Spirits of God.

2. Concerning the seven churches, and epistles to them; whether the churches be to be considered typically, and what was written to them be to be understood in a prophetic, as well as a didactic, or a corrective sense?

But in what follows we shall find great (if not some inextricable) difficulties. To prepare a way for the explication of which:

1. I shall first take it for granted, that from this chapter to the end of the book, is revealed the most remarkable things which have happened, or shall happen, to the church of God over all the earth, from the time of this Revelation first made to John, to the end of the world.

2. Hence it followeth, that many of the things prophesied are fulfilled; but how many is hard to determine, because the time is not set when these revelations should take place; whether (as some would have it) from the beginning of Christianity, which, to me, seemeth not probable; because at this time ninety-five years were elapsed since that time, and this prophecy was concerning the things that were to be after the time of John’ s being in Patmos, Rev 1:1 22:6 ; or from the beginning of the time when the Jewish church and state ceased, which was twenty-six or twenty-seven years before this; or from the time when this Revelation was, which was Anno 95, or thereabouts, in the time when Domitian was the Roman emperor, and had began his persecution of the Christians, which (as historians tell us) was but five years before he was slain, for he was slain in September, 97. And for those that are fulfilled, the things spoken are so applicable to various accidents happening in that period of time, that it is very difficult ofttimes to assert the sense of the prophecy.

3. I take it for granted also, that things happened in the same order as is here described; so as the things under the second seal came not to pass till those prophesied of under the first seal were, in a great measure, accomplished, &c.

4. I agree with those who think, that what we have, Rev 12:1-13:18, Rev 17:1-18:24 , are but a prophecy of other things that happened to the church at the same times spoken of, Rev 6:1-10:11 .

5. I do believe the visions of the seals, trumpets, and vials, Rev 6:1-17,8:1-13,15:1-8,16:1-21 , the principal prophecies, and contain the revelation of things in order as they were to happen; and of these, that of the seals is the principal.

6. I agree with those who think, that God, by the first six seals, intends the whole space from the time when the things written in this book began to be fulfilled, unto the time when paganism was rooted out of the Roman empire, which some make the year 310, some, 325. In which time (counting the beginning from the time when John was in Patmos, which was in Domitian’ s time) the emperors of Rome were Nerva, Trajan, Adrianus, Antoninus Pius, Antoninus Philosophus, Antoninus Verus, Commodus, Severus, Caracalla, Macrinus, Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, Maximinus, Gordianus, Philippus, Decius, Valerianus, Gallienus, Claudius, Aurelianus, Tacitus, Probus, Carus, Numerianus, Dioclesianus with Maximinianus, Constantius Chlorus with Galerius, Constantius with Galerus, Constantinus; in all, twenty-seven, in about two hundred years: they were all persecutors, and God allowed them short reigns. So as what we have revealed in and under the first six seals, happened within the Short space of the three hundred or three hundred and twenty-five first years after Christ; I am apt to think, after ninety-eight or one hundred of them were elapsed. These things being premised, let us now come to consider the text.

John’ s vision continueth still: by the Lamb he means Christ, the Lamb oft mentioned Rev 5:1-14 ; and by

one of the seals one of the seven seals mentioned Rev 5:1 , that were set upon the book which John saw in the right hand of God the Father, given to Christ, Rev 5:7 . Christ began to discover the counsels of God relating to that first period of his church. And John heard one of the four living creatures speaking to him with a great and terrible voice, like

the noise of thunder Inviting him to come near, or to attend and see.

Poole: Rev 6:2 - conquering, and to conquer

Some, by this white horse understand the gospel; others, the Roman empire. And by him that sat thereon with a bow, some understand Christ going forth with power to convert the nations; others (and in my opinion more probably) the Roman emperors, armed with power, and having the imperial crown, carrying all before them. So as that which God intended by this to reveal to St. John, was, that the Roman emperors should yet continue, and use their power against his church. Those that understand by the white horse, the gospel, or God’ s dispensations to his church under the first period, and by the rider, Christ, (amongst whom is our famous Mede), think, that hereby all the time is signified from Christ’ s ascension, which was in the thirty-fourth year after his incarnation, till the time that all the apostles were dead, that is, the first hundred years after Christ (for so long histories tell us John lived). It was the age then current, and so may take up part of the vision of things that were to come. The history of all but forty of those years we have in the Acts, till Paul was carried prisoner to Rome. In this period ruled Augustus Caesar, (in whose time Christ was born, Luk 2:1 ), Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero, Galba, Otho, F. Vespasianus, Titus, and Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan, ten or eleven in all. They went on

conquering, and to conquer the world. But till Nero’ s time, about the year 66, they did not begin to persecute the Christians; nor did Vespasian and Titus much rage, nor Domitian, till he had reigned eight years: so as I leave it indifferent to the reader, whether to understand by the white horse and his rider, God’ s dispensations of providence to his church these first years, causing his gospel to prevail much, and conquering many to the profession of it, or the Roman empire, with those that ruled it: what is said is true of both.

Poole: Rev 6:3 - The second seal // The second beast // Come and see

The second seal the second of those seven seals with which the book, mentioned Rev 5:1 , was sealed.

The second beast the beast like a calf Rev 4:7 .

Come and see inviting John to attend.

Poole: Rev 6:4 - And there went out another horse that was red // And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth // And that they should kill one another // And there was given unto him a great sword

And there went out another horse that was red signifying blood and slaughter.

And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth either to Christ, (as some say), or to those that ruled the affairs of the Roman empire at that time, to disturb the peace of the church.

And that they should kill one another: this was a time of much blood.

And there was given unto him a great sword and therefore a sword is given to him that rode upon the this horse. Some think that this period began with Nero, thirty-four years before the other ended (according to what was said before); others make it to begin with Trajan, and to comprehend eighty years, until the time of Commodus; in which time Trajan, and Hadrian, and the three Antoninuses successively ruled the Roman empire: the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian took up near half the time, in which time this prophecy was most eminently fulfilled; for in Trajan’ s time the Jews rebelling, and killing many subjects of the Roman empire, to the number of twenty-two thousand in one place, and two hundred and forty thousand in another place, themselves were as miserably handled by the Roman forces sent by Trajan and Hadrian, who slew of them (as histories tell us) five hundred and fourscore thousand: nay, the Jews themselves say, they lost double the number of those who came out of Egypt, and more than they lost by Nebuchadnezzar, or by Titus when their city was taken: on the other side the Romans lost very many. Many Christians also were put to death during this period, during which was the third and fourth persecution.

Poole: Rev 6:5 - The third beast // the third seal // a black horse // a pair of balances // He that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand

The third beast was he who had the face of a man, who also inviteth John to come and see what came forth upon his opening

the third seal He seeth

a black horse and a rider upon him, with

a pair of balances There is a difference amongst interpreters what should be signified by this black horse; some by it understand famine, because a scarcity of victuals bringeth men to a black and swarthy colour; some understand by it justice, because the rider is said to have a pair of balances in his hand; others understand by it heresies, and great sufferings of the church by heretics and others.

He that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand either to give men their bread by weight, (as is usual in times of great scarcity), or to measure out every one their due.

Poole: Rev 6:6 - A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny // a penny

A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny: interpreters are at so great a loss here to fix the sense, that some think this phrase signifies famine and scarcity; others think it signifies great plenty. The Greek word here used, signifieth, say some, half a bushel; others say it signifieth so much bread corn as is sufficient for four loaves; others say, something more than a quart; others, so much as was allowed servants for maintenance for a day: let it be which it will, it signifies no great scarcity; for the word signifying

a penny signified but as much in our money as came to seven pence halfpenny. I think therefore Mr. Mede judgeth well, that by the black horse was signified not a time of famine and scarcity, but of plenty; and the rather, because it is added, hurt not the oil and the wine: and that the balances in the rider’ s hands signified not scales to give men their bread by weight, (as in a time of scarcity), but the balance of justice; nor will the colour of the horse conclude the contrary. The whole therefore of this prophecy seemeth to foretell that this period, from the time of Commodus the Roman emperor, who ruled the empire from the year 180 to 197, and was followed by Severus, Macrinus, Caracalla, Hellogabalus, and Alexander Severus, the son of Mammeas, who came to the empire Anno 222, and reigned to 237, should be a time of great plenty and civil justice. Histories tell us of no famine in that time, but large stories of the great care of two of those emperors especially, for supplying their countries with corn, and for the administering of civil justice. The things foretold by the opening of this seal, our famous Mede makes to have had their accomplishment with the determination of the reign of Alexander Severus.

Poole: Rev 6:7 - the fourth seal

The beast mentioned Rev 4:7 , that had the face of a flying eagle, inviteth John to attend to the opening of

the fourth seal that is, the revelation of the counsels of God, as to what should happen to the church (within the Roman empire) in the fourth period, which is conceived to have begun with Maximinus, about the year 237, and to have ended with the reign of Dioclesian, 294.

Poole: Rev 6:8 - A pale horse // Death // And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth // To kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth

A pale horse a horse of the colour of his rider,

Death which makes men look pale, and bringeth them into the state of the dead, (here translated hell ), whether heaven or hell, as they have lived.

And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth over a great part of the earth.

To kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth to kill men all manner of ways, with the sword, famine, pestilence, and by throwing them to wild beasts. Interpreters judge that here was prophesied what should happen to the Roman empire, and the church within it, from the time when Maximinus was made emperor, which was about the year 237, to the time of Aurelianus, which was about 271. Some extend it to Dioclesian’ s time, which ended about 294; but Mr. Mede rather reserveth that for the fifth seal. If the former time only be taken in, there was within it the seventh, eighth, and ninth persecutions; Dioclesian began the tenth and greatest of all. Within this time this prophecy was eminently fulfilled: Maximinus destroyed all the towns in Germany, for three or four hundred miles. There was a plague lasted fifteen years together in the time of Gallus, who had the empire Anno 255. Three hundred and twenty thousand Goths were slain by Flavius Claudius. Maximinus and Gallienus were both great butchers, both to their own subjects that were heathens, and to Christians. Gallienus is said to have killed three or four thousand every day. Such wars and devastations could not but be followed with famine; besides that we are confirmed in it, both by the testimony of Eusebius and Cyprian, the latter of whom lived within this period.

Poole: Rev 6:9 - And when he had opened the fifth seal // come and see // I saw under the altar // The souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held

And when he had opened the fifth seal: this and the next seal’ s opening, is not prefaced with any living creature calling to John to

come and see We must consider:

1. The number of the beasts was but four, who all had had their courses.

2. Some have thought that it is, because here is no mention of any new persecution, but a consequent of the former.

3. But this vision was so plain, it needed no expositor.

I saw under the altar still he speaks in the dialect of the Old Testament, where in the temple was the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense; the allusion here is judged to be to the latter.

The souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held from whence we may not conclude, that the souls of men and women when they die do sleep, as some dreamers have thought. These are said to be the souls of them that were slain

for the word of God & c., for preaching the word, and their profession of the gospel, bearing a testimony to Christ and his truths. Mr. Mede thinks that under this seal is comprehended the ten bloody years of Dioclesian’ s persecution, which of all others was most severe; paganism at that time (as dying things are wont) most struggling to keep itself alive. This tyrant is said, in the beginning of his reign, within thirty days to have slain seventeen thousand, and in Egypt alone, during his ten years, one hundred and forty-four thousand. He thinks that the souls of those which this wretch had slain throughout all his dominions, within his short period of ten years, were those principally which were showed John upon the opening of this seal.

Poole: Rev 6:10 - And they cried with a loud voice // And true // Dost thou net judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

And they cried with a loud voice their blood cried, or their souls cried to God,

saying, How long, O Lord, holy and therefore thou canst not abide iniquity, and of all iniquity canst least abide innocent blood, which is the blood of thy saints, whose blood is precious in thy sight.

And true and who art true to thy word of threatenings against blood thirsty men, and to thy promises for the deliverance of thy people.

Dost thou net judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Dost thou not judge our cause, and avenge us, who have committed vengeance to thee, not daring to avenge ourselves upon wicked men, who dwelling upon the earth are seen, and their practices known to and by thee, and are under thy power, so as thou canst at pleasure do it.

Poole: Rev 6:11 - And white robes were given unto every one of them // That they should rest yet for a little season // Until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were // Should be fulfilled

And white robes were given unto every one of them white robes of glory; for the white robes of Christ’ s righteousness, and of a holy life, were by them put on before they were slain.

That they should rest yet for a little season that they should be satisfied, and acquiesce in God’ s dispensations.

Until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were for God had yet more faithful witnesses to be martyred, (though not in such flocks as before), who should die for the same faith and profession.

Should be fulfilled when the number of those his martyrs should be completed, he would avenge their blood upon their enemies.

Poole: Rev 6:12 - And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal // And, lo, there was a great earthquake // And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal the sixth of those seals with which the book was sealed, mentioned Rev 5:1 : this signifieth the revelation of some things which should happen in some certain period of time, but what period is the question, as to which interpreters differ. Some think, the time when Jerusalem was taken; but this was a time past twenty-six or twenty-seven years before John was in Patmos, where he had this vision about things that shall be, Rev 1:1 22:6 . Some think, that period of time which shall be immediately before the day of judgment; but that guess seemeth worse, for after this there was a seventh seal to be opened. Some think, the period of the church’ s conflict with antichrist. But Mr. Mede’ s judgment (followed by many other famous men) seems best, that it denotes that period when Constantine, the first Christian emperor, restored peace to the church, by overturning the whole pagan state, and making Christianity the religion of the greatest part of the world. This was about the year 311, and perfected upon his victory over Licinius, 325. In this I acquiesce. Let us now see how what is said in this and the following verses about this period will agree to that time.

And, lo, there was a great earthquake: the great question is here, what is meant by this great earthquake, the darkening of the sun, the moon becoming as blood, &c. No history recording any such prodigies, hath made many (taking these things in the natural, literal sense) to say the period under the first seal signifies either the time when Jerusalem was taken, or the day of judgment; but there is a metaphorical sense of these expressions, very usual in the prophetical writings, to show great changes in states; and in this sense it is to be taken here. Thus the prophet describeth the great change God would make in Jerusalem, Isa 29:6 , Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire: and Jer 15:9 , Her sun is gone down whlie it was yet day. And, Eze 32:7 , the change God would work in the ruin of Egypt, is thus expressed: When I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee. So Joe 2:10,31 , and Joe 3:15 . What is an earthquake, but the shaking of the earth? And under this notion God expresseth the changes he makes in states and kingdoms, Isa 2:19,21 24:18 Hag 2:6,7 . Thus by

earthquake here is to be understood a great change in the Roman empire.

And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood: the sun signifies those that are in the highest power; the moon, those that are next to them in place and dignity.

Poole: Rev 6:13

This is but another phrase signifying a great change: the whole verse is much the same with Isa 34:4 . Literally these things were never yet fulfilled. It is a phrase signifying the fall of great and mighty men.

Poole: Rev 6:14 - And every mountain and island were moved out of their places

Two expressions more signifying the same thing. The first is used by the prophet, to signify the change God would make in the state of the Edomites, Isa 34:4 , as will appear by comparing what that prophet saith, with what Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Obadiah say, upon the same argument, Jer 49:7-22 Eze 35:1-15 .

And every mountain and island were moved out of their places all sorts of people shall be destroyed, or all the paganish religion shall be rooted out.

Poole: Rev 6:15

A terror shall fall upon all sorts of men, high and low; and, like men affrighted, they shall seek for themselves hiding places, where they can think themselves most secure: see Isa 2:19 .

Poole: Rev 6:16 - And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us // From the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us: see Hos 10:8 Luk 23:30 . They shall be in a great consternation, and be ready to take any course for security.

From the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb from the wrath of God, and of Jesus Christ.

Poole: Rev 6:17

For this judgment that is upon us, is the effect of his wrath for our abusing and persecuting his members; and we, with all our courage, might, and power, are not able to abide his wrath. These words import, that in this great change, as the greatest persons should be at a loss what to do, so they should perish under a conviction that the great vengeance of God was come upon them for their opposing the gospel, and provoking Christ by persecuting of his members.

There are other more particular explications of the sun, moon, stars, heavens, & c., but they all centre in this general, that here is prophesied a great and universal change of the religion of the world, which should strike a great terror into the pagan rulers, and issue in the overturning of all their altars and temples, and the ruin of the great men, relating either to their civil or ecclesiastical state; and that they at last should know that, God was God, and that these judgments came upon them for their opposition to Christ. And (which addeth strength to this interpretation) Mr. Durham hath observed, that no so short period of time hath produced so many remarkable judgments, and extorted so many ingenuous confessions from enemies, that what came upon them was for their persecutions; and a catalogue of which may be found in Mr. Mede, and in Mr. Durham. Mr. Mede reckoneth Galerius, Maximinus, and Licinius. Galerius was eaten up of worms, being before he died sensible of his guilt, ceasing from his persecution, and begging the Christians’ prayers. Maximinus, another Roman emperor, (or partner in the empire with the former), being beaten by Licinius, fled to Tarsus, and there fell upon his pagan priests, who had deceived him by their lying oracles, and made a decree for the Christians’ liberty; but God would not suffer so bloodly a wretch to die after the ordinary death of man; he died miserably through intolerable pain, his eyes dropping out of his head. Licinius was a Christian, and joined a while with Constantine, but apostatized, was overcome in two battles, taken, and by him put to death. All these three were within the space of eighteen years. Mr. Durham to these adds the instances of Dioclesian and Maximinian, little above twenty years before, in the heat of their persecution making a stop, and through a horror of conscience laying down their imperial dignity; and Maxentius, drowned in the river Tiber; and he says Licinius, before mentioned, before he died, revenged himself upon his idolatrous priests that had persuaded him to forsake Constantine’ s God. The change was so great in the empire, upon Constantine the Great’ s coming to the throne, by the death of some great persons, turning others out of place, destroying the whole frame and practice of the pagans’ religion, that it might well be expressed by earthquakes, the sun turning black, the moon as blood, the stars falling from heaven to earth, the heavens departing like a scroll, and the removal of islands and mountains, and by the consternation it would bring all the pagan great men into, &c. And this time, which was a period of about twenty-five or twenty-seven years, is thought to be understood to be the time predicted upon the opening of the sixth seal. Thus we see the dragon’ s reign at an end in about three hundred and eleven or three hundred and twenty-five years after Christ; the empire, as pagan, persecuting the church of Christ, and following it with ten successive persecutions, quite overturned, and a Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, ruling it. But we must understand these great things were not perfected in a few months; some relics of paganism remained; for though Constantine shut up the pagan temples, yet all the idols in them were not destroyed until the time of Theodosius, who began to rule in the empire Anno 379, and reigned sixteen years. Between Constantine and him were Constantius and Constans, Julian the Apostate, and Jovianus, Valentinianus, Valens, and Gratian; during some of whose reigns (Julian’ s especially) the Christians suffered much both from pagans and Arians, so that the Christians had not a full and perfect quiet till after the year 390.

PBC: Rev 6:1

Introduction to the three rhythmic cycles of this vision

Beginning with the seven seals, we have a rhythmic continuation of the same vision: seven seals followed by seven trumpets. This is followed by seven vials. In the three cycles of this vision, we find a silence or period of waiting, between the opening of the sixth and seventh seal. There is a silence, or period of waiting, between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpets. There is a silence, or period of waiting, between the pouring out of the sixth and seventh vials. The purpose of this pause seems to be meant to allow concentration on the events which are taking place. Throughout these cycles, we find an ever increasing intensity in the events. However, they are the same events progressively described in greater detail.

The First Seal Opened: The white horse and its rider {Re 6:1-2}

Re 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

Chapter five ended with the scene of all creatures giving honor and praise to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. " Then the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth for ever and ever." It is of greatest importance that one is found who is worthy to open the seals and reveal the things contained therein. What more can be done than time taken to give honor and praise to Him that controls the destiny of time, and of the inhabitants of the earth.

Now the opening of the seals is the uppermost thing to be performed. This is shown by the beast who in thunderous tones spoke to John and said, " Come and see."— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 6:2

Some have interpreted this person as Vespasian whom the Roman emperor, Nero, sent to put down the revolt in Judea and Jerusalem. While there is some symbolic resemblance that could be connected with the coming of Vespasian, we must see the overall meaning of the symbols represented here. (1) This figure was mounted on a white horse. White is the symbol for purity and righteousness. Vespasian, although a conqueror of much territory, could never be pictured as pure or righteous. He caused the death of many of God’s people in the land. (2) This One was given a crown. Vespasian was also given a crown, but, it was after he had returned to Rome[1] upon the death of Nero. He was crowned Emperor of Rome. This was not a direct reward for his excelling in battle. It was what any man would receive upon being elevated to the throne of Emperor of Rome. (3) This One is pictured as having a bow in his hand. This is a symbol of going forth to war. This also did Vespasian do! But there is another who is greater in battle than any general who ever fought. This One is Jesus Christ who waged war against the wiles of Satan. All the symbols represented here truly fit only Him. (a) He is the essence of Purity. (b) He was crowned with a crown before coming to redeem His people. He laid aside that crown and took it on Himself again upon finishing the work which He was sent to do. (3) He conquered death, hell, and the grave and is set down at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for the saints. In this respect, He is still conquering. So I conclude that this One who is seen in the opening of the first seal is none other than Jesus Christ, our Conqueror.

We may find a last proof of this conclusion in Re 19:11, " And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." Please continue reading through Re 19:16 and you will find these words, " And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Scriptures concerning God’s use of the Bow:

David gives us some insight to the bow seen in the hand of Him on the white horse, " The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." {Ps 110:2}

Ps 7:11-13, " God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." Additional clarification of the bow’s meaning may be found in the following Scripture references.

Isa 41:2, " Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow."

La 2:4, " He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire."

Zec 9:12-13, " Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man."

Zec 10:3-5, " Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded."— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Upon Vespasian’s return to Rome, Titus, his son, was left to fight in Judaea. Especially against Jerusalem. Neither of these could ever be understood to be this conqueror who sat upon the white horse with the Bow of battle.

PBC: Rev 6:3

Re 6:3-4 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.  And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

After this seal is opened we see an opposing force. Instead of white we find a rider on a red horse. This is not a figure of peace; it is a figure of evil. Some might portray this to be Satan, but I submit to you that it is a power used by Satan.[1]  We are to understand this Book’s original time placement, with the opening of the Book’s Seals in the light of the destruction of Jerusalem which was finished in the year 70 A.D. Power was given to him to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another with the sword. During the battle which ensued between the Romans and Jews, many of those Jews who were fainthearted wanted to desert to the Roman Army. As a result of this there was fighting and killing between various factions among the Jews. This further weakened their ability to be successful. Titus penetrated the first wall of the city. He proceeded to penetrate the second wall but was driven back. On the second attempt, he was successful and the slaughter was terrible. The Jewish historian Josephus states that those who continued to fight against the Romans who occupied places around the wall had to trample the dead bodies in the streets. Many other terrible acts took place as men slew one another. " Thus did the miseries of Jerusalem grow worse and worse every day, and the seditious were still more irritated by the calamities they were under, even while the famine preyed upon them, after it had preyed upon the people." Again, The opening of the second seal of the Red Horse represents the powers of Rome (Titus and his army) and the great slaughter which accompanied the taking of the city of Jerusalem.— Eld. Charles Taylor  

[1] Re 12:3 Shows " great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads [Upon examination, you will find this figure as being Satan. Therefore, it could not be the same figure represented in Re 6:4]

PBC: Rev 6:5

Re 6:5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Titus had been left by his father, Vespasian to continue the siege on Jerusalem. During this period was the time of harvest. The wheat, grape vineyards, and olives seem to be what is meant here. This was in the spring of 70 A.D. On May 25 the outer wall was breached. The Roman army poured into this part of the city. The besieging army took great care taken so as not to destroy the harvest,[1] as it was the only means of survival of the troops which fought against the Jews. Also, for a time the Jews depended upon slipping past the guard, bringing food into the city for those who were shut up there. This was cut off, and Josephus wrote that the famine was so terrible that mothers began to kill their children and eat them. They reasoned that it would serve two purposes. (1) The children would be spared the agony of punishment at the hand of the Romans. (2) This also would provide food for those who were striving to hold the city from being taken.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Food was a most precious necessity for the survival of both the Roman army and the Jews inside the city. The price was set as a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." Great care would be taken not to destroy the harvest.

PBC: Rev 6:7

Re 6:7-8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

This rider on the pale horse, whose name was Death, is representative of the multitude of Jews slaughtered by Rome. The hell which followed him was the suffering of those affected by this period of tribulation. Not only was the city ravaged by famine, there were also those who fought among themselves. Bands of renegades roamed the streets robbing and killing other Jews. The streets were filled with dead bodies until it was impossible for the living to go through the city without stepping upon these dead bodies. Also, the houses were filled with dead bodies which could not be buried. Surely the wrath of the Lamb was being poured out upon this great city of Jews who had just recently crucified the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Jesus had foretold this in the earlier gospels, " Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." {Mt 23:38} He makes the same prediction in Lu 13:35. Other references, some of which I will allude to later, are made throughout the Scriptures. The time of vengeance had come.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 6:9

Re 6:9-11 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

During the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.)[1] there was great persecution throughout the entire Roman Empire of both the Jews and Christians. History records that Nero became completely demented and killed his mother, his wife, his stepbrother, and others who rose against him. He participated in the circus events and always had to be proclaimed a winner even when he lost. When a great fire destroyed a large part of Rome, the people said that Nero had started it to make room for his palace which was called the " golden house." This fire was blamed on the Christians of the time and many of them were put to death.

We find also in the predictions made by Jesus that the Jews had brought this upon themselves because of their slaughter of those sent to prophesy against them. " Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.." {Mt 23:33-36} These were those under the Altar who cried out for God’s vengeance. Their testimony had been faithful by their retaining their faith in the Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ. Now vengeance was being called for and meted out by the Almighty God who declares, " Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord."— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Ancient and Medieval History" by Magoffin and Duncalf, Page 350.

PBC: Rev 6:12 - And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth[2] her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

Re 6:12-13 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

We will discuss these verses together because of their closeness in accomplishment.

The sixth seal was opened and " there was a great earthquake, the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." We must remember this was written in figurative language. Titus had broken through the third wall[1] and was even now in the innermost part of the temple area. Fire had been set to the gates of the temple area. The fire burned so fiercely that the Holy of holies was set on fire. The clamor of the fighting was so great that the whole earth shook under their feet. The smoke was so thick that nothing could be seen. History records that men did not know whether they were fighting the enemy or those in their own ranks. Have you ever looked at the sun or moon through a smoked glass? This seems to be the conditions described here.

" And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth[2] her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."

Daniel uses the word stars as meaning people, (Speaking of the great he Goat) " And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them." {Da 8:10} The Hebrew word used in this passage for stars was kowkab, ko-kawb’; [ this was used] fig. a prince:—star ([- gazer]). We have already mentioned the great slaughter which went on throughout the city. Bodies were strewn in every passage until it was impossible to walk without stepping on them.

Let us now examine the useage of the word star in the Scriptural meaning which may be more clear. The same word kowkab is used in Joe 2:10, " The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." The word kowkab is used to refer to falling dignitaries in Joe 3:15; Ob 1:4.

New Testament language most often translates the word aster, as-tare’as the same word stars used in the text of Re 6:13. The only exceptions are when it refers to the stars overhead such as, " Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable." {Heb 11:12} This passage uses the word astron, as’-tron; prop. a constellation; put for a single star (nat. or artificial):—star. Jesus’ own words give us further evidence that the word stars refers to the falling dignitaries, " The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." {Re 1:20} It stands without controversy that the seven stars, are the seven angels, which are the pastors, or elders, (men) of the seven churches of Asia.

The meaning in the text seems clear. Especially when we hear what history says about those who had escaped to this part of the temple. Children, old men, and profane persons, and priests [stars] were all slain in the same manner. Their bodies were strewn over the ground as the stars are strewn over the sky.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Chapter V, page 823. of Josephus " War of the Jews." ." .. When they saw the fire of the holy house, they exerted their utmost strength, and brake out into groans and outcries again: Perea [mountain near Jerusalem] did also return the echo, as well as the mountains round about [the city], and augmented the force of the entire noise."

[2] ballo, a primary verb; to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense): arise, cast ( out), X dung, lay, lie, pour, put (up), send, strike, throw ( down), thrust.

PBC: Rev 6:14

The following passages from the history of Josephus, Book VI, Chapter IX, Section 5 best illustrates the fulfillment of these verses; After the Jews had been ejected from the towers [Josephus states] ." .. by God Himself, and fled immediately to that valley which is under Siloam, where they again recovered themselves out of the dread they were in for a while, and ran violently against that part of the Roman wall which lay on that side; but as their courage was too much depressed to make their attacks with sufficient force, and their power was now broken with fear and affliction, they were repulsed by the guards, and dispersing themselves at distances from each other, went down into the subterranean caverns." I believe that although they did not realize this to be the wrath of God and the Lamb, they fulfilled the Scripture in a figure. They fled to the caves to cover them from the oppressor whom God had sent for their destruction.— Eld. Charles Taylor

PBC: Rev 6:17

The language of these verses is highly figurative. I do not intend to imply that they only have meaning for that particular time. History seems to repeat itself because man never learns from the past. However, this was a day when the wrath of God and of the Lamb was upon the Jewish world. They had acted so wickedly and had falsely proclaimed the meaning of prophecy until their people had come into judgment.

Mt 24:3 gives an account of Jesus as He sat upon the mount of Olives, ." .. the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Jesus told them to take heed that no man deceive you. There would be many who would come in His name proclaiming to be Christ. " And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." {Mt 24:6-14}

The fulfillment of may be clearly seen in the trials of the early church, and possibly in the opening of the second and third seals of Re 6:3-6. The book of Acts gives us a great testimony of what the disciples suffered. In fact, we are told that, except John, none of the original ones who followed Jesus were still alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. There were others, however, who were willing to suffer at the hands of the enemies of Christ rather than deny His name. History can only confirm things which God has already proclaimed. John was given this message of the Revelation of Jesus Christ before the great catastrophe came upon the Temple of the Jews and the city of Jerusalem. Instead of history proving the Bible to be true- the Bible proves history to be that which God had already proclaimed.— Eld. Charles Taylor

Haydock: Rev 6:1 - I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals

I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, or the first seal. The interpreters are much divided in expounding what is to be understood by the sealed up contents, and in applying them to such and such persecutions, persons, and events, by all which it appears that there is no certainty as to such applications and expositions, even of particular ancient fathers; though at the same time it is both certain and evident that many pretended interpretations, (that is, arbitrary inventions, from the private spirit of heretics) are both false and groundless, contrary to the unexceptionable authority (to use Dr. W.'s words) of the primitive fathers, and inconsistent with the doctrine and belief of the Catholic Church, as I may have occasion to shew that the ridiculous fable is of this number, of so many popes being antichrist, and the beast of the Apocalypse. I shall, for the satisfaction of the Christian reader, as I hinted in the preface of this book, give a short account of those expositions that are not improbable. (Witham)

Haydock: Rev 6:2 - A white horse // White horse

A white horse, such as conquerors used to ride upon at a solemn triumph. This is commonly understood of our Saviour, Christ, who, by himself and his apostles, preachers, martyrs, and other saints, triumphed over all the adversaries of his Church. He had a bow in his hand, the doctrine of his gospel, piercing like an arrow the hearts of the hearers; and the crown given him, was a token of the victory of him who went forth conquering, that he might conquer. (Witham) ---

He that sitteth on the white horse is Christ, going forth to subdue the world by his gospel. The other horses that follow represent the judgments and punishment, that were to fall on the enemies of Christ and his Church: the red horse signifies war; the black horse famine; and the pale horse (which has death for its rider) plagues or pestilence. (Challoner) ---

White horse; viz. Jesus Christ, who came to subdue all nations to the faith. The bow signifies the gospel, and the word of God, those powerful arms, of which St. Paul so often speaks, as being so necessary for all who are engaged in bringing souls to the faith of Christ. The crown marks the sovereign power of Jesus Christ, and the assurance of conquest. (Cornelius; Bossuet; Du Pin)

Haydock: Rev 6:3-4 - Opened the second seal // Another red horse

Opened the second seal, &c. portending wars and shedding of blood, and so he is said to have power to take away peace from the earth . (Witham) ---

Another red horse. This red horse signifies the cruel persecutions, which the Roman emperors carried on against the Christian religion. For this end, it is said immediately after, one sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and kill one another; for this purpose was a great sword given to him. (Andræas; Menochius; Grotius)

Haydock: Rev 6:5 - The third seal....a black horse

The third seal....a black horse. This is also commonly expounded of wars and persecutions, and particularly of famine, by the scales in the rider's hand, and by two pounds of wheat being sold for a penny: a great price, considering the value of money at that time. (Witham) ---

The black horse represents the public miseries, famines, &c. which, particularly the latter, the Roman empire frequently experienced during the reign of the persecuting emperors. The balance, which the rider is said to hold in his hand, represents the strict manner in which people would measure out whatever they sold during the time of famine. (Andræas; Hamm; Bossuet)

Haydock: Rev 6:7-8 - The fourth seal....a pale horse

The fourth seal....a pale horse, the rider's name death . It is also expounded of trials, afflictions, persecutions, and especially of plagues, over four parts of the earth, by which may be denoted the great power and extent of the Roman empire. In the Greek we read, over the fourth part of the earth; which some reconcile, by observing that the Roman empire had dominions under it in all the four parts of the world, east, west, north, and south; and that its dominions might be said to comprehend the fourth part of the world. (Witham) ---

By the pale horse, and the rider, death, who sat upon it, followed by hell, are meant that dreadful mortality which ever attends famines, &c. He had power to kill with sword, with famine, &c. All these evils came upon the Roman people, and history has preserved the memory of them, to shew the truth of the prophecy here delivered by St. John. (Grotius; Calmet)

Haydock: Rev 6:9 - Under the altar // Revenge our blood // And white robes

After the opening of the fifth seal, the souls of the martyrs under the altar cried aloud for justice, saying, how long, &c. Out of zeal for God's honour, and the good of the Church, they pray that the enemies of Christ, and of the Christian faith, may be humbled, and that all may acknowledge and fear the justice of God, by the punishment of his enemies, and the reward of his faithful servants. St. Jerome, by under the altar, understands Christ himself, under whom, as under their head, are all the martyrs. Some who doubted or held that the blessed were not admitted to see God, in heaven before the day of general judgment, have turned this expression, under the altar, or at least the expressions of some of the fathers upon these words, as if they were favourable to their error, which is sufficiently disproved, even by the words that follow, that white robes were given to each of them one, in which they are said to walk with him wherever he goeth. (Chap. iii. 4. and Chap. xiv. 4.) (Witham) ---

Under the altar. Christ, as man, is this altar, under which the souls of the martyrs live in heaven: as their bodies are here deposited under our altars. ---

Revenge our blood. They ask not this out of hatred to their enemies, but out of zeal for the glory of God, and a desire that the Lord would accelerate the general judgment, and the complete beatitude of all his elect. (Challoner) ---

These holy souls, who had been slain for the word of God, do not beg the Almighty to revenge their blood, through any hatred of their enemies, but through the great zeal with which they were animated, to see the justice of God manifested: that by this severity they might be moved to fear him, and be converted to him. Thus in the Scripture we often read of the prophets beseeching the Almighty to fill their enemies with confusion, to humble them, &c. (Perer; Bossuet; Du Pin, &c.) ---

And white robes. To console them, they each had given them a white robe, as a mark of their innocence, and as an assurance that on account of it they would in due time receive full measure of beatitude. They should rest yet a little while, most probably to the day of final retribution, when the number of those destined to be their brethren in bliss should be completed. Then they should all together receive full recompense, and their persecutors be covered with confusion. (St. Augustine, serm. xi. de sanctis; Gregory the great, lib. ii. Moral. cap. iv.

Haydock: Rev 6:12 - And I saw

At the opening of the sixth seal....a great earthquake, &c. Many think that these dreadful signs, of the sun turning black, &c. are not to happen till the time of antichrist, a little before the end of the world. See Matthew xiv.; Luke xxi.; Isaias xiii. and xxxiv.; Ezechiel xxxiii.; Daniel xii.; &c. Others apply these prodigies to God's visible chastisements, on the heathen emperors and persecutors of the Christians, before the first Christian emperor Constantine. (Witham) ---

And I saw. The sixth seal being opened, St. John sees painted before him the severe and terrible manner in which the Almighty would revenge himself on his enemies. It may refer either to the time of Constantine, when we behold the Christian religion triumphing on the ruins of paganism, and after his death, and that of his sons, the empire of Rome given up a prey to barbarians, Rome itself taken and pillaged, and all the provinces thrown into dreadful disorder and consternation; or it may likewise refer to the day of general judgment, when the Almighty will make sinners drink the wine of his indignation, in presence of all the just; of which dreadful time of vengeance all other particular judgments are only imperfect figures. (Victorin; Ven. Bede; Tichon) ---

St. John, in imitation of the ancient prophets, makes use of the earthquake, &c. hyperbolically, to mark more strongly the dreadful and horrible evils with which the Roman empire, and its persecuting emperors, we to be overwhelmed. Rome itself was filled with wars and seditions, both at home and abroad. The emperors were all destroyed by the Almighty in a most singular manner; witness Maxentius, who was thrown headlong into the Tiber; Maximin Jovius, who, under a horrible and incurable disease, owned the hand of the Almighty afflicting him; Maximin Daia, who, being overcome in battle, fled away in disguise, and at last, seized with a strange disease, his bowels were all consumed, he lost his eyes, and died reduced to a mere skeleton. Witness likewise Licinius, who, being engaged with Constantine, was always beaten, and at length strangled. Maximian also, the rival of Constantine, who strangled himself in Marseilles, where he had been confined. (Calmet)

Haydock: Rev 6:14 - And every mountain

And every mountain. In the dreadful confusion of the Roman empire, in the time of Constantine, so great was the revolution, that mountains appeared, as it were, moved out of their places; islands shifted from their accustomed situations. We behold at one time seven persons, Maximin Galerius, Maxentius, Severus Cæsar, Maximin, Alexander, Maximin Hercules, and Licinius, all aiming at the empire. The first six perished in nine years, from 305 to 314: Licinius was strangled in 324. All these were enemies of the Christian religion. Constantine, who supported it, remained sole master of the empire. (Calmet)

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Gill: Rev 6:1 - And I saw, when the Lamb opened one of the seals // and I heard as it were the noise of thunder // one of the four beasts saying, come and see

And I saw, when the Lamb opened one of the seals,.... Of the sealed book; one of the seven seals of it, as read the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and the Oriental versions, and the Complutensian edition; that is, the first; so "one" is used for first in Gen 1:5; and as appears from the following seals being called second, third, fourth, &c. These seals express events to be fulfilled; and therefore cannot respect the steps towards, and the signs of Jerusalem's destruction, and that itself, which had been accomplished some years before the vision of the seals; and which vision would have been needless: and these are called seals, because they were sealed among God's treasure, or were resolved on, and decreed by him; and because they were hidden and unknown until they came to pass; and when they were come to pass, they were pledges of what God would do in the destruction of Rome Papal, as here in the destruction of Rome Pagan: for these seals, at least the first six of them, concern the Pagan empire, and the state of the church in it; and are so many gradual steps to the ruin of it, and to the advancing and increasing of the kingdom of Christ; and these, with the seven trumpets, which the last seal introduces, reach from the times of the apostles to the end of time, as appears from Rev 10:6. Now the opening of these seals is the revealing of the events signified by them, and expressed in the hieroglyphics here made use of, and the fulfilment of them;

and I heard as it were the noise of thunder; a voice very loud and sonorous, exciting the attention of John:

one of the four beasts saying, come and see; this was the of the four living creatures, for the word one is used in the same sense as in the foregoing clause; and this creature was like to a lion, Rev 4:7; wherefore his voice was loud, as when a lion roars, Rev 10:3, and is fitly compared to thunder: there is no need to look out for any particular person, as intended by this living creature; or to conclude him to be Peter, as Grotius, who was dead before this seal was opened; or Quadratus, Aristides, and Justin Martyr, who courageously appeared in the Christian cause, and made very excellent apologies for it, with success, since these lived under the second seal; it is enough in general to understand the ministers of the Gospel, who, as sons of thunder, loudly and publicly preached the Gospel, and, as lions, boldly and bravely defended, and took notice of the power and providence of God in succeeding their ministry, and in weakening the kingdom of Satan in the Gentile world, and particularly in the Roman empire; and therefore are represented as calling to John to "come and see"; observe and take notice of the following hieroglyphic, representing the success of the Gospel ministry, תא חזי, "come and see", is a phrase often used by the Jews, to stir up attention to what is about to be said; See Gill on Joh 1:46.

Gill: Rev 6:2 - And I saw, and behold a white horse // and he that sat on him had a bow // and a crown was given unto him // and he went forth, conquering and to conquer

And I saw, and behold a white horse,.... Representing the ministration of the Gospel in the times of the apostles, which were just now finishing, John being the last of them, who saw this vision; and the "horse" being a swift, majestic, and warlike creature, and fearless of opposition and war, may design the swift progress of the Gospel in the world, the majesty, power, and authority with which it came, and opposition it met with, and which was bore down before it; and its "white" colour may denote the purity of Gospel truths, the peace it proclaims, the joy brings, and the triumph that attends it, on account of victories obtained by it, and which is afterwards suggested: white horses were used in triumphs, in token of victory ⁿ; a white horse, in a dream, is a good sign with the Jews ^o; and Astrampsychus says ^p, a vision of white horses is an apparition of angels; and so one of those angels which the Jews suppose to have the care of men, and the preservation of them, is said ^q to ride by him, and at his right hand, upon a white horse; but the rider here is not an angel, but the head of all principality and power:

and he that sat on him had a bow; with arrows; the bow is the word of the Gospel, and the arrows the doctrines of it; see Hab 3:9; so called for their swift motion, sudden and secret striking, piercing, and penetrating nature, reaching to the very hearts of men; laying open the secret thoughts and iniquity thereof; wounding, and causing them to fall, and submit themselves to the sceptre of Christ's kingdom:

and a crown was given unto him; by God the Father; expressive of Christ's regal power and authority, of his honour and dignity, and of his victories and conquests:

and he went forth, conquering and to conquer; in the ministration of the Gospel, which went forth, as did all the first ministers of it, from Jerusalem, to the several parts of the world; from the east, on which side of the throne was the first living creature, who called upon John to come and see this sight, as the standard of the tribe of Judah, which had a lion upon it, was on the east side of the camp of Israel; and out of Zion went forth the word of the Lord, which was very victorious, both among Jews and Gentiles, to the conversion of thousands of them, and to the planting of a multitude of churches among them, and to the setting up and advancing the kingdom of Christ; but inasmuch as yet all things are not made subject to him, he is represented as going forth in the Gospel, still conquering, and to conquer, what remain to be conquered: that Christ is designed by him that sat on the white horse, and is thus described, is evident from Rev 19:11; with which compare Psa 45:3, though as this emblem may respect the Roman empire, the white horse may be an emblem of the strong, warlike, and conquering state of it; and the rider which a bow and crown may design Vespasian, whom Christ made use of as an instrument to conquer his enemies the Jews, and who, in consequence thereof, had the imperial crown put upon him; and it may be further observed, that though his conquest of them was a very great one, yet they afterwards rose up in the empire, in great numbers, rebelled, and did much mischief, when they were entirely conquered by Trajan and Hadrian, who seem to be intended in the next seal.

Gill: Rev 6:3 - And when he had opened the second seal // I heard the second beast say, come and see

And when he had opened the second seal,.... Of the sealed book; that is, the Lamb, as before:

I heard the second beast say, come and see; this living creature was the ox, whose situation was on the west side of the throne, as the standard of Ephraim, on which was an ox, was on the west of the camp of Israel; no mention is made of the noise of thunder, as before, the voice of the ox being lower than that of the lion; and this perhaps may point out a decrease in the Gospel ministry; to fix on any particular person, as, with Grotius, the Evangelist Matthew, because he says, Mat 24:7, nation shall rise against nation, which carries in it some likeness to what is said at the opening of this seal; or, as with Brightman, Justin Martyr, whose second apology was not regarded by the emperor, is mere conjecture; the ministers of the Gospel are intended who lived under this seal, who, though they might not be strong and courageous like the lion, or their predecessors, yet were like the ox, laborious in preaching, and patient in suffering; and these are represented in this vision as inviting John to behold and observe the following hieroglyphic.

Gill: Rev 6:4 - And there went out another horse, that was red // and power was given to him that sat thereon // to take peace from the earth // and that they should kill one another // and there was given unto him a great sword

And there went out another horse, that was red,.... Which may be an emblem either of the suffering state of the church, being answerable to the Smyrnaean one, as the purity and power of the Gospel, represented in the former seal, may answer to the Ephesine church; or else of those contentions and divisions occasioned among men through the Gospel, which, though of a peaceable nature, yet, through the corruption and depravity of men, brings not peace, but a sword; or rather of those bloody wars within the period of time signified by this seal, which came as punishments on the enemies of the Gospel:

and power was given to him that sat thereon; not the Lord Jesus Christ, who is said to ride on a red horse, Zec 1:8; though indeed he presides over his church and people, and takes the care of them when the most desolating judgments are in the earth, and causes all things to work together for good; nor Satan, the red dragon, who was a murderer from the beginning, and delights in effusion of blood, and in stirring up of men to destroy one another, whenever he is permitted; but Trajan the Roman emperor, in whose reign John died; and who came from the west, and was a Spaniard, as was Hadrian his successor, who may be joined with him; which was the side, or quarter, on which the living creature was that spoke to John; and in the times of these emperors were very bloody and civil wars: wherefore power is said to be given him,

to take peace from the earth; that is, from the Roman empire, which is sometimes called the whole world; and which could not have been done, if power had not been given from him who makes peace, and creates evil:

and that they should kill one another: which refers not to the havoc and slaughter which the Jews made one of another at the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the Jews murdering of the Greeks and Romans, and the Romans the Jews, in the times of the above emperors. In Trajan's time, the Jews who dwelt about Cyrene, under the conduct of one Andrew, fell upon the Romans and Greeks, and killed many, fed on their flesh, ate their bowels, besmeared themselves with their blood, and covered themselves with their skins; many of them they sawed asunder, from the crown of the head down to the middle; many of them they threw to the wild beasts, and many of them they forced to fight among themselves, till they had destroyed above two hundred and twenty thousand men; in Egypt and Cyprus they committed the same kind of outrages, their leader being one Artemion, where two hundred and forty thousand men perished ^r; Lybia was almost emptied of men by them; so that Hadrian, the successor of Trajan, was obliged to send colonies to repeople the places they had made desolate. But at length they were overcome by Lupus, governor of Egypt, and by Marcius Turbo, and by Lucius, whom Trajan sent against them ^s, and destroyed great numbers of them; and for the space of about fourteen years they were quiet; but in Hadrian's time they rose again, and set one Bar Cochab, a false Messiah, at the head of them, whom they proclaimed king: when Hadrian sent forces against them, and with great difficulty subdued them, took the city Bither, where they were, and destroyed at times five hundred and eighty thousand of them ^t; the Jews say, that he put men, women, and children to death in such numbers, that their blood ran down into the main sea, yea, that a horse might go up to his nose in blood ^u; they say that he destroyed in Bither double the number of those that came out of Egypt, even twelve hundred thousand men ^w; some of their accounts are very extravagant, and exceed all bounds ^x; however, the slaughter was very great, that it may well be said,

and there was given unto him a great sword; to slay men with; though Hadrian on his death bed, amidst his pains, would fain have had a sword given to him to have dispatched his own life, and could not obtain one ^y; the Jews say he destroyed all the land of Judea ^z.

Gill: Rev 6:5 - And when he had opened the third seal // I heard the third beast say, come and see // and I beheld, and lo a black horse // and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand

And when he had opened the third seal,.... Of the sealed book:

I heard the third beast say, come and see; this living creature was that which was like a man, who was on the south side of the throne, as the standard of Reuben, which had the figure of a man, was on the south side of the camp of Israel; this was not the Apostle Paul, as Grotius thinks, to whom was made a prophecy of a famine in the days of Claudius Caesar; nor Tertullian, who made an apology for the Christians in the times of this seal, as Brightman conjectures; but the ministers of the Gospel, whose voice was neither the voice of the lion nor of the ox, but of a man, which was still lower, but yet they retained their humanity, reasoning prudence, and wisdom; and these are represented as calling upon John to come and see, and take notice of the following hieroglyphic:

and I beheld, and lo a black horse; an emblem either of the afflicted state of the church, still answering to the Smyrnaean one, being black with persecutions, schisms, errors, and heresies, which were many; or particularly of the heresies and heretics of those times, who might be compared to a horse for their pride and ambition, speaking great swelling words of vanity, and to a black one, for their hidden things of dishonesty, and works of darkness, for the darkness in themselves, and which they spread over others; or rather of a famine, not in a spiritual sense, of hearing of the word, but in a literal sense; see Lam 4:7; not what was at the siege of Jerusalem, or in the times of Claudius Caesar, Act 11:28; but in the times of the Emperor Severus, and others, as the historians of those times ^a, and the writings of Tertullian show; when the Heathens ascribed the scarcity that was among them to the wickedness of the Christians ^b, whereas it was a judgment upon them for their persecution of them:

and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand; by whom is meant not some noted heretic, or heretics, who had balances of deceit in their hands to prove their tenets by, such as spurious writings, &c. or who made pretensions to the Scriptures, the balance of the sanctuary, to weigh doctrines in; nor Christ, whose name heretics shrouded themselves under, and professed, and who overruled and made use of their heresies for the good of his people, that they might be made manifest. Mr. Mede thinks that Septimius Severus, the Roman emperor, who came from Africa, from the south, on which side was the living creature that spoke to John, is intended, and in which country black horses were in great esteem; and he was the only African that ever was emperor of Rome before ^c: and the same author thinks, that his having a pair of balances in his hand expresses the strict justice that emperor was famous for; but rather it signifies famine, and such a scarcity as that bread is delivered out by weight to men; see Lev 26:26.

Gill: Rev 6:6 - And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say // a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny // and see that thou hurt not the oil and wine

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say,.... Not the voice of Agabus to the Apostle Paul, Act 11:28; but rather of Christ, who was in the midst of them, Rev 5:6; the Ethiopic version adds, "as the voice of an eagle":

a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; "Choenix", the measure here used, signifies as much as was sufficient for a man for one day, as a penny was the usual hire of a labourer for a day, Mat 20:2; so a choenix of corn was allowed to each man in Xerxes's army for a day, according to Herodotus ^d; the same quantity for a day was given by the Romans to their shepherds and servants, and is generally said to be about two pounds; according to Agricola it was two pounds and a quarter ^e. This measure was very different; the Attic choenix was a measure that held three pounds, the Italic choenix four pounds, and the military choenix five pounds, and answers to the Hebrew Kab ^f; and in the Septuagint version of Eze 45:10; it answers to the Bath; and some make it to be the fourth part of a bushel, and others half a bushel ^g; the first account of its being about two pounds, and the allowance of a man for a day, seems best to agree with this place: so that this phrase expresses such a scarcity, as that a man's daily wages would be but just enough to buy himself bread, without any thing to eat with it; and when he would have nothing left for clothes, and other things, nor anything for his wife and children:

and see that thou hurt not the oil and wine; signifying that this scarcity should fall not upon the superfluities, such as oil and wine, which may be spared, and men can live without; but upon the necessities of life, particularly bread: some render the words, "and be not unjust in the oil and wine"; and so think they refer to the laws of the Roman emperors, in relation to wine and oil, and to the just execution of them, that there might be plenty of them; and others understand them in an allegorical sense, of the principal doctrines of the Gospel, comparable to oil and wine, and which Christ takes care of, that they shall not be hurt and destroyed by heretics and false teachers, even when they prevail the most, and bring on a famine of the word, and when the church is blackened and darkened with them; and indeed these may much better be applied to the Gospel, than, as they are by the Jews, to the law; who frequently say ^h that the law is called "oil", and speak of יינה של תורה, "the wine of the law" ⁱ:

Gill: Rev 6:7 - And when he had opened the fourth seal // I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see

And when he had opened the fourth seal,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; that is, when the Lamb had opened it, or took it off, as in Rev 6:1;

I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see; this living creature was that which was like an eagle, and was on the north side of the throne, answerable to the standard of Dan, which was on the north of the camp of Israel, and had the figure of an eagle upon it; and the opening of this seal begins with Maximinus the Roman emperor, who came from Thrace, far north. This living creature was not James, the brother of our Lord, who had been dead long ago, as Grotius imagines; nor Cyprian, as Brightman thinks, though he lived under this seal; but the ministers of the Gospel in general in the times referred to are intended: and it may denote some decline in the Gospel ministry, that they had not the courage and strength of the lion, as the first Gospel preachers; nor the patience and laboriousness of the ox, the next set of ministers; nor the solidity and prudence of the man, the ministers that followed them; and yet they retained some degree of light and knowledge, sagacity and penetration, and contempt of the world, signified by the eagle; these invite John in a visionary way to come and see the following hieroglyphic.

Gill: Rev 6:8 - And I looked, and behold a pale horse // and his name that sat on him was Death // and hell followed with him // and power was given unto them // over the fourth part of the earth // to kill with the sword // and with hunger // and with death // and with the beasts of the earth

And I looked, and behold a pale horse,.... An emblem either of the state of the church, pale not with persecution, as some think, for through that it was red; but with the hypocrisy and superstition of many of its members, who were paving the way for the man of sin, and on account of whom the church was grown sickly and dying; or rather this is an emblem of the sickly and dying state of the Pagan Roman empire, through a complication of judgments upon it, hereafter mentioned, as war, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts:

and his name that sat on him was Death; not Satan, who has the power of death, but death itself; who is represented as a person, as he elsewhere is, sometimes as a king, Rom 5:14; and as an enemy, 1Co 15:25; see Isa 28:15; and this was a very ancient way of speaking of death among the Heathens; in the theology of the Phoenicians, according to Sanchoniathon ^k, who wrote before the Trojan wars, a son of Saturn by Rhea was called Muth, whom the Phoenicians sometimes called Death, and sometimes Pluto; which is manifestly the same with the Hebrew word מות, "death"; the name of the rider of this horse may well be called Death, both with respect to the various kinds of death under this seal, and with respect to the short lives of the emperors; for in less than fifty years' time, which is the period of this seal, namely, from Maximinus, A. D. 235, or 237, to Dioclesian, A. D. 284, or 286, there were more than twenty emperors, and who most of them were cut off by violent deaths; besides the thirty tyrants who sprung up under one of them, as so many mushrooms, and were soon destroyed. This is the only rider that has a name given him; and from hence we may learn what to call the rest, as the rider of the white horse "Truth", or Christ, who is truth itself; the rider of the red horse "War"; and the rider of the black horse "Famine": and because both the last, with other judgments, meet together under this seal, the rider of this horse is emphatically called "Death":

and hell followed with him: that is, the grave, which attended on death, or followed after him, and was a sort of an undertaker, to bury the dead killed by death; so these two are put together, Rev 1:18;

and power was given unto them; to death and hell, or the grave, or rather to death only, for the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read, "to him": and the power that was given him reached

over the fourth part of the earth; not of the church, which is never called the earth in this book, but is distinguished from it, Rev 12:16; nor the land of Judea, but the Roman empire; some understand it of Europe, the fourth part of the world:

to kill with the sword; Maximinus, with whom this seal begins, was of a very barbarous disposition, and a more cruel creature, it is said, was not upon earth; and besides his persecution of the Christians, he acted a most inhuman part to the Pagan Romans themselves, so that the senate dreaded him; and the women and children at Rome, having heard of his barbarities, deprecated his ever seeing that city; and he was called by the names of the worst of tyrants; more than four thousand men he killed without any charge or judicial process against them, and yet his blood thirsty mind was not satisfied ^l: Gallienus, another emperor after him, emptied many cities entirely of men, and killed three or four thousand a day of his own soldiers, whom he understood had thoughts of a new emperor ^m; under him thirty tyrants sprung up together in the empire, who made great havoc before they were cut off; and in his time the Alemanni (a people in Germany) having wasted France, broke into Italy; Dacia, which beyond the Danube was added by Trajan (to the Roman empire) was lost; Greece, Macedonia, Pontus, and Asia, were destroyed by the Goths; Pannonia was depopulated by (the people called) Sarmatae and Quadi; the Germans penetrated into Spain, and took the famous city of Tarracon; the Parthians having seized Mesopotamia, began to claim Syria to themselves; so that, as the Roman historian observes ⁿ, things were now desperate, and the Roman empire was almost destroyed: not to take notice of the multitudes that were killed in after wars and persecutions, under other emperors, during this seal:

and with hunger; or famine; there was a grievous famine in the times of Gallus and Volusianus, which Dionysius bishop of Alexandria makes mention of ^o; and Cyprian, who lived under this seal, also speaks of famine, and indeed of all these three, war, famine, and pestilence, as then imputed to the Christians, and to their irreligion, which charge he removes ^p:

and with death; that is, with the pestilence, which, by the Targumist ^q, and other Jewish writers ^r, is commonly called מותנא, "death", because it sweeps away and carries off such large numbers with it: now in the reign of the last mentioned emperors was a very noisome pestilence, which raged most cruelly; the Roman historian says ^s, that their reign is only known, or was famous, for the pestilence, diseases, and sicknesses; Hostilianus, who was created emperor by the senate, died of it ^t; Dionysius of Alexandria has given a most shocking account of it, who lived at the same time ^u; it began in Ethiopia, and went through the east, and through all parts of the Roman empire, and lasted fifteen years; to which perhaps, for its large extent and long duration, there never was the like:

and with the beasts of the earth; by which many of the Christians were destroyed in the persecutions of those times; and is also one of God's four judgments, and which goes about with the sword, famine, and pestilence, Eze 14:21, and may be literally understood of destruction by wild beasts, as Arnobius, who lived at this time, observes ^w; or allegorically, of men comparable to wild beasts, as Herod is called a fox, and Nero a lion; and such savage creatures were most of the Roman emperors, and particularly the thirty tyrants under Gallienus: so the Targum on Jer 3:12; interprets "the beasts of the field", מלכי עממיא, "the kings of the nations". The Alexandrian copy reads, "and upon the fourth part of the beasts", as if the power of death reached to them as well as to men. Under this seal all the judgments of God on Rome Pagan meet together; and it is observable that Maximinus, a Roman emperor, and one of the last of the Pagans, boasted, that for worshipping of the gods, and persecuting Of the Christians, neither pestilence, famine, nor war, were in his times, when on a sudden all these three came together at once ^x; to which may be added the following observation, that though the several steps and methods which God took to punish, weaken, and destroy the Roman Pagan empire, were remarkably seen in the distinct periods to which these first four seals belong, yet they must not be entirely restrained and limited to these periods, as if they were not made use of in others; so though the Gospel proceeded with remarkable success under the first seal, in the times of the apostles, to the subduing of multitudes in the Roman empire, it was also preached with great success under the following seals; and though there were most grievous wars under the second seal, in the times of Trajan and Adrian, so there were also in after times; that was not the only period of war, though it was remarkably so; likewise there was a famine in the times of Claudius, under the first seal, Act 11:28; and in the time of Trajan, under the second seal ^y, and of Commodus ^z as well as under the third; and there were pestilences also in those times, as well as under the fourth seal; and because God did by each of these weaken, break, and at last bring to ruin that empire, they are showed to John one after another.

Gill: Rev 6:9 - And when he had opened the fifth seal // I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain // for the word of God // and for the testimony which they held

And when he had opened the fifth seal,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; here is no beast speaking here, nor horse and rider presented to view; it was now a very dark time both with respect to the church of God and ministry of the word, and the Roman empire. This seal refers to the times of Dioclesian, and the persecution under him; and instead of the voice of one of the living creatures, John hears the voice of martyrs:

I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain; these include not only all the martyrs that were put to death in the persecution of Dioclesian, but all those that suffered in all the persecutions preceding; for this, being the last, involves them all. "Souls", being immaterial and incorporeal, are invisible to the bodily eye; these therefore were either clothed with corporeal forms, as angels sometimes are, or rather John saw them in a visionary way, as he saw the angels: and these were the souls of such as "were slain"; their bodies were dead, but their souls were alive; which shows the immortality of souls, and that they die not with their bodies, and that they live after them in a separate state: נשמתין דקטולי, "the souls of them that are slain", is a phrase used by Jewish writers ^a, and who have a notion that the souls of those that are slain are kept in certain palaces, under the care of one appointed by God ^b: and these were seen "under the altar"; either this is said in allusion to the blood of the sacrifices, which was poured out at the bottom of the altar, Lev 4:7, in which the life and soul of the creature is; or because that martyrdom is a sacrifice of men's lives, and an offering of them in the cause of God and truth, Phi 2:17; or with some reference to a common notion of the Jews, that the souls of the righteous are treasured up under the throne of glory ^c they have also a saying, everyone that is buried in the land of Israel is as if he was buried "under the altar" ^d; for they think that being buried there expiates their sins ^e; to which they add, that whoever is buried "under the altar", is as if he was buried under the throne of glory ^f; yea, they talk of an altar above, upon which Michael the high priest causes the souls of the righteous to ascend ^g. Christ may be meant by the altar here, as he is in Heb 13:10, who is both altar, sacrifice, and priest, and is the altar that sanctifies the gift, and from off which every sacrifice of prayer and praise comes up with acceptance before God; and the souls of the martyrs being under this altar, denotes their being in the presence of Christ, and enjoying communion with him, and being in his hands, into whose hands they commit their souls at death, as Stephen did, and being under his care and protection until the resurrection morn, when they shall be reunited to their bodies which sleep in Jesus: and they were slain

for the word of God; both for the essential Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose faith they professed; and for the written word, they made the rule of their faith and practice, and which Dioclesian forbid the reading of, and sought utterly to destroy; and for the Gospel principally, which is contained in it:

and for the testimony which they held; the Syriac and Arabic versions read, "for the testimony of the Lamb"; and so the Complutensian edition; either for the Gospel, which is a testimony of the person, office, and grace of Christ, the Lamb, which they embraced, professed, and held fast; or for the witness they bore to him, and the profession which they made thereof, and in which they continued.

Gill: Rev 6:10 - And they cried with a loud voice // saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true // dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth

And they cried with a loud voice,.... With great ardour and fervency, being very pressing and importunate; and which shows that they were awake, and not asleep, and that the soul does not sleep with the body in the grave, or is after the death of that in a state of insensibility and inactivity, as some imagine:

saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true; the person they address is either the Lamb in the midst of the throne, with whom they were, and under the shelter of whom they were safe and happy; or God the Father, who sat upon the throne, whom they call "holy", because being so in his nature, and as appears in all his works, he could not but hate, and so revenge the evil that was done to them by their cruel persecutors; and whereas he is "true" to all his threatenings, as well as his promises, and faithful to every word of his, they doubted not but he would judge and avenge them of their enemies; but they seem desirous to know how long it would be first: saying,

dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? the men of the world, idolatrous persons, earthly princes, who had shed their blood; and which they desire not out of any sinful or malicious affection, but that the holiness and justice of God might appear, and also his truth and faithfulness in his promises to them, and threatenings to his enemies; and that God in all things might be glorified, and his church and people on earth might be supported and delivered; see Job 24:12.

Gill: Rev 6:11 - And white robes were given to everyone of them // and it was said unto them, that they should rest // yet for a little season // until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled

And white robes were given to everyone of them,.... The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read in the singular number, "a white robe", and so does the Syriac version; as a token of their innocence, that they did not suffer, or were slain, for any capital crime or immorality they were guilty of; and of their purity and perfection they now enjoyed; as also of that spiritual delight and pleasure, which was unspeakable and full of glory, they now had in the presence of God and Christ; and in short, of that happiness and glory which souls in a separate state, before the resurrection morn, are partakers of; who besides the righteousness of Christ, comparable to fine linen clean and white, walk with Christ in white, in the shining robes of bliss and glory:

and it was said unto them, that they should rest; or have rest; eternal rest from all their toil and labour, from all their sorrows and sufferings of every kind, which rest remains for the people of God, and into which these were now entered; or that they should cease from expostulating and inquiring after the above manner, and rest satisfied and contented, exercising the graces of faith, hope, and patience, believing, looking, and waiting:

yet for a little season; either until the end of this persecution by Dioclesian, when vengeance would be taken of the Roman empire, and it would be no more as Pagan; or until the day of judgment, when full vengeance will be inflicted on the persecutors of the saints; and which is but a little while with God, with whom a thousand years is as one day, and in comparison of that eternity of blessedness glorified saints are partakers of:

until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled; meaning either the rest of the saints that should suffer martyrdom in the: following part of this persecution; or those who should suffer under the Arian persecution, when the empire would become Christian; or under Rome Papal, and in all the persecutions of the apostasy, unto the end of that state: these are called "fellow servants" and "brethren" of the saints in heaven; for they all worship and serve the same God, and belong to the same family, in heaven and in earth; and the selfsame reason that is made use of to animate the saints below to courage, faith, and patience in suffering, 1Pe 5:9, is used to keep up the expectation of the saints in heaven, of that vengeance that will be executed on their enemies, and to point out the time when it will be; and it may be observed, that the number of martyrs, or of those that shall suffer and die in the cause of Christ, and for his Gospel, is fixed and determined by God; and that number shall be perfected and completed, and when that is done, he will pour out all his wrath on them that have persecuted them and put them to death: and so the Arabic version renders it, "that the number of their companions and brethren, and of those who are to be killed as they have been killed, is fulfilled"; In the Apocrypha is written:

"39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord. 40 Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord. 41 The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed.'' (2 Esdras 2)

Now though this seal does not introduce any judgment to be executed on the Roman empire, as the others do; yet since it introduces all the martyrs with one united voice requiring vengeance on their blood, it may very well be considered as a step towards, and as making way for, the utter ruin of that empire: and which the next seal being opened brings on, and is a full answer to the cry of these souls.

Gill: Rev 6:12 - And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal // and, lo, there was a great earthquake // And the sun came black as sackcloth of hair // And the moon became as blood

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal,.... Of the sealed book which the Lamb took out of the hand of him that sat upon the throne, in order to open it, and unloose its seals. About this seal interpreters much differ; some refer this to the destruction of Jerusalem, because of the likeness of expressions here used, and in Mat 24:7; but this was past many years before this seal was opened; and besides, though that time was a day of wrath to the uttermost upon the Jewish people, and it was the Lamb's day of wrath, taking vengeance on them for their unbelief and rejection of him as the Messiah; yet they had no sense of the Lamb, nor any apprehension of his wrath at that time, nor have they now, but imputed their calamity to their divisions and quarrels among themselves. Others think this seal belongs to the destruction of the Roman empire by the Goths, Huns, Vandals, &c. but it should be observed, that the empire stood some hundreds of years after the end of the fifth seal and the opening of this; and it was after the seventh seal, and at the sounding of the trumpets, that that destruction came on; moreover, that calamity was by the savageness of some barbarous nations which overrun the empire, but this here spoken of comes from the wrath of the Lamb; add to which, that that calamity distressed the Christians in the empire, and them chiefly, whereas this falls only upon the enemies of the Lamb, and the persecutors of his people. Others are of opinion that this has respect to the strange change of affairs in the church of Christ, through the rise, power, and tyranny of antichrist; by "the earthquake" they suppose is meant the shaking of both church and state by the man of sin; who shook the doctrines, ordinances, and discipline of the church, and threw all into confusion, and introduced a new face of things; and also shook the kingdoms of the earth, and the thrones and crowns of princes: by the "sun" becoming "black", they think is meant the sun of righteousness, Jesus Christ, who was obscured in the doctrines concerning him, as the one and only Mediator, and justification by his righteousness, and pardon through his blood, by introducing the mediation of angels and saints, the doctrine of justification by works, and the doctrine of merit, works of supererogation, indulgences, pardons, penance, and purgatory: by the "moon" they understand the church, which receives all its light, grace, righteousness, and holiness, from Christ, and which, like the moon, is changeable as to its outward form and circumstances; and this became "as blood", through the persecutions, massacres, and cruelties of the Romish antichrist, who has been made drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus: the "stars" they take to be the ministers of the word; either hypocritical ones, who were like unripe figs, destitute of true grace, and so were easily shaken with the wind of Papal power, and fell into the earth, and apostatized from the faith, and conformed to the corruptions of antichrist; or the true ministers of the Gospel, who were put to death, and that to an untimely and violent one, signified by the shaking of untimely figs by a mighty wind: by the "heaven" departing as a scroll rolled up, they suppose is designed either the church, which fled into the wilderness, and remained invisible during the Papal power and cruelty; or else the Scriptures, which the pope made himself sole judge and interpreter of and shut up from the common people in an unknown language, and forbid the laity the reading of them: by "mountains" they think are intended the kings and princes of the earth, who were obliged to submit to the Romish antichrist, and give their kingdoms to him, and receive their crowns and kingdoms from him, and be his vassals: and by "the islands", the people their subjects, who were forced to acknowledge him as the supreme head, and receive his mark in their right hand or forehead, or they could not buy and sell: and by all ranks and degrees of men, as "kings", &c. hiding themselves in rocks and mountains, and calling upon them to fall on them and cover them, they apply either to their invoking the virgin Mary, and other saints, to intercede for them, and screen them from the wrath of God and Christ, on account of their sins; or else to the persecutors of the saints, of every rank and in every age, and to the punishments that shall fall upon them. But however feasible this interpretation may seem to be, it is certain that this was not the face of things at the close of the fifth seal, or the Dioclesian persecution, and at the opening of the sixth, when Constantine came to the imperial throne, for then the church appeared as she is described in Rev 12:1; which is just the reverse of this. There are others, who because of the very awful things here spoken of, and the very awful language in which they are expressed, conclude that this seal respects the day of judgment; not considering that the fifth seal ends about the year 313, at the close of the last of the ten persecutions, and that the sixth seal begins where that ends; and though above 1750 years have elapsed since that time, yet the day of judgment is not come, and we know not when it will; besides, here is another seal, a seventh seal, which follows, and introduces punishments on the Roman empire, and seven vials follow, which pour out plagues upon antichrist, all which can never be thought to be after the day of judgment; moreover, the account of the day of judgment stands in its proper place in Rev 20:12; after the destruction of Babylon, the first resurrection, and the saints' thousand years' reign with Christ. But to proceed; the business which is the subject of this seal is the removing of Paganism, and Pagan governors out of the Roman empire; this was the thing the rider upon the white horse, under the first seal, set out upon to effect, and never ceased until he had accomplished it; and this is what ensued upon the close of the fifth seal, when Pagan persecution ceased, on Constantine, a Christian emperor, having the reins of power in his hands; and it cannot be thought, that so wonderful a change of things as this should be omitted in this prophetic history; and it is easy to observe that changes in kingdoms and governments, both as to the polity and religion of them, are sometimes expressed in such like figurative terms as here; see Isa 13:9; and which may be accommodated to this event as follows:

and, lo, there was a great earthquake; or "shaking", both of the heavens and earth, and which, as it denotes in Hag 2:6; compared with Heb 12:26; the removing of Jewish worship and ordinances, in order to make way for the Christian ordinances and institutions, which were to remain; so here it intends the removing of Pagan worship and idolatry, and of Pagan magistrates, that the Christian religion and Christian magistrates might take place. This, with what follows, concerning the darkness of the sun and moon, might be literally true; and it seems by historians, that there were such phenomena about those times; for it is asserted ^h, that a very great earthquake in Syria followed the Dioclesian persecution, which shook and caused to fall the tops of houses at Tyre and Sidon, and killed many thousands; and some such like happened at Rome, and at Spoletum, where above three hundred and fifty Pagans perished, as they were serving their idols. It is also observed ⁱ, that the moon was turned into blood in the times of Galerius, who succeeded. Dioclesian; and that the sun failed, and the stars shined for four hours, when Licinius was conquered by Constantine; but then these may be considered as symbols of the change in the empire.

And the sun came black as sackcloth of hair; which is made of black hairs; see Isa 50:3; as when eclipsed. The sun was the chief deity worshipped by the Heathens, under various names, and this becoming black, may design the removing of their principal gods from their honour and glory, or the downfall of idolatry, which the Jews ^k call שמשה של עבודה זרה, "the sun of idolatry", which they suppose is meant in Son 1:6. And Satan, the god of this world, who was worshipped in different forms, now fell, as Lucifer, the son of the morning, and as lightning from heaven, and was cast down from all his dignity, influence, and power, to the earth; for the casting out of the red dragon, the old serpent, and Satan, after his combat with Michael and his angels, in Rev 12:3, refers to this very time; likewise the chief magistrate, the Heathen Roman emperor, may be included; and it is remarkable, that Dioclesian the emperor, who had now retired from the imperial government, and was under a cloud, under disgrace, and in distress, had, in the zenith of his glory, caused himself to be worshipped as a god, and as the brother of the sun and moon.

And the moon became as blood; as when obscured; the Alexandrian copy and some others, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, "the whole moon"; this may design the next Heathen deity, or class of deities, for the moon was also worshipped by the Heathens under different names; and may likewise include the Pagan priesthood, which was next, and was annexed to the imperial dignity; and which was disused by, Constantine and his successors; and even the very title, and the robe which was a symbol of it, were laid aside as unworthy of Christian princes; see Mede upon the place.

Gill: Rev 6:13 - And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth // Even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth,.... All the other inferior deities lost their esteem, worship, and honour; for the idol temples being now opened, the idols and statues were exposed to the common people, and were found to be stuffed with hay and straw, which brought them into great contempt ^l. Moreover, as stars sometimes signify the ministers of the Gospel in the Christian church, Rev 1:20, and sometimes the priests in the Jewish church, Dan 8:10; so they may here likewise include the idolatrous priests among the Heathens, who were discharged and removed by Constantine, and had their posts and profits taken away from them; yea, Maximinus, an Heathen emperor, or tyrant, being beaten by Licinius, who was then Constantine's colleague, killed many of the priests and prophets of his gods, which were formerly had in great admiration by him, as deceivers and betrayers of him, by whose oracles he was animated to the war ^m. And in like manner Licinius put to death the priests and prophets of the new idol at Antioch ⁿ.

Even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind; which figs being young and green, and not fixed, fall off easily, and in great numbers, when a blustering wind beats upon them; and so the rabble of Pagan deities, and idolatrous priests, were easily, and in great numbers, removed through the power of Constantine, which carried all before it.

Gill: Rev 6:14 - And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together // And every mountain and island were moved out of their places

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together,.... The manner of writing formerly was on rolls of parchment; hence the word volume is used for a book, which, when rolled up, the writing within could not be seen, not a syllable nor letter of it. In like manner the Roman empire, as Pagan, which was like a large sheet, or rather like the expanse or firmament of the heaven, stretched out over all the earth, was now, as to the Paganism of it, rolled up together, so that there were no more Heathen gods, nor Heathen priests; no more idolatry, and idolatrous worship of that kind were to be seen, and not so much as the names of Heathen gods to be heard of in the empire.

And every mountain and island were moved out of their places; by "every mountain" may be meant the places of idolatrous worship, which were usually upon mountains; see Jer 3:6; which were now shut up, or demolished, or used for Christian worship; and "every island" being moved also may show, that Paganism was not only rooted out of the provinces of the empire upon the continent, but out of the islands also; and the ecclesiastical history of these times informs us, that there were Christian churches in the isles, which enjoyed the Gospel free of persecution and distress; as in the isles of Cyprus, Crete, the Cyclades, Sardinia, Siciiy, Corsica, and in ours of England, Scotland, and Ireland ^o. Mr. Daubuz thinks, that as "mountains" design the temples of idols, "islands" signify the revenues of them, which were now taken away, and applied to other uses.

Gill: Rev 6:15 - And the king's of the earth, and the great men // and the rich men // the chief captains // and the mighty men // and every bondman, and every freeman // hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains

And the king's of the earth, and the great men,.... The Roman emperors, and other principal magistrates, governors of provinces and cities:

and the rich men; among the commonalty; these three may design perhaps more particularly the emperors, nobles, and senate of Rome: and

the chief captains; or captains of thousands, that had the command of the Roman legions

and the mighty men; the soldiers that were under them, men of strength, courage, and valour;

and every bondman, and every freeman; which takes in all the inhabitants of the Roman empire, of every state and condition, and which was an usual distinction among the Romans: these

hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; where, through their cruel persecutions, they had forced multitudes of Christians to flee, and therefore, "lex talionis", the law of retaliation was righteously inflicted on them; and not to take notice of any other, this was remarkably true of their kings or emperors Dioclesian and Herculius Maximianus, who were emperors together, in the height of their imperial glory and grandeur, the one being at Nicomedia, and the other at Milan, did, on one and the same day, of their own accord, abdicate the empire, and divested themselves of their imperial crown and government, and retired to a private life; pretending in public, that old age, and the weight of business, were the cause, but to their friends they owned, that it was through despair, because they could not extinguish the Christian religion ^p. Some ascribed this to frenzy and madness ^q; but the true reason was, that the wrath of the Lamb was let into their consciences, and which they could not bear, and which obliged them to take this step, to the amazement of the whole world. Maximinus, who succeeded them, being overcome by Licinius, laid aside his imperial habit, and hid himself among the common people, and skulked about in fields and villages ^r. Maxentius, another emperor, fled from Constantine, the instrument of the wrath of the Lamb, and the pouring it out upon his enemies, and fell into the river Tiber, from the Mylvian bridge, where he perished; and which was the very place in which he had laid snares for Constantine ^s.

Gill: Rev 6:16 - And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us // and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb

And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us,.... They chose death rather than life. Dioclesian being invited by Constantine to a marriage feast, excused himself by reason of his old age; but receiving threatening letters, the historian ^t says, in which he was charged with having favoured Maxentius, and with favouring Maximinus, he poisoned himself; and others of the emperors are said to lay violent hands upon themselves:

and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; thus they owned the proper deity, and almighty power of God, and Christ, which they dreaded; so Maximinus being afflicted with a most horrible disease, of which he died, asked pardon of the God of the Christians, and owned that he suffered justly, for his reproaches of Christ ^u Licinius, who sometimes pretended to be a Christian, and joined with Constantine, but afterwards revolted and fought against him, being conquered and taken, was put to death; at which time he, and they that suffered death with him, confessed that the God of Constantine was the only true God ^w. This passage shows, that Christ, God's firstborn, is higher than the kings of the earth; yea, that he is equal with him that sits upon the throne, with God his Father, since his wrath is equally dreaded as his; and that, though he is a Lamb, mild, meek, and gentle, yet there is wrath, fury, and indignation in him, against his enemies, which is very dreadful and intolerable; see Psa 2:12.

Gill: Rev 6:17 - For the great day of his wrath is come // And who shall be able to stand

For the great day of his wrath is come,.... The Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read, "of their wrath"; both of him that sits upon the throne, and of the Lamb, against the Heathen gods and Heathen persecutors, in answer to the cry of the martyrs in Rev 6:9.

And who shall be able to stand? against either of them, or in their presence, and so as to bear their wrath and displeasure; all which expresses guilt, shame, fear, and despair.