Read or listen The Book of Revelation, chapter 6 online (ESV, YouVersion)

The First Seal 6:1-2

Jesus begins to open the scroll he has taken and breaks one seal at a time. As each seal is broken, John sees a vision. John's speech is now prophetic and therefore symbolic language. It is best to avoid too detailed explanations. Perhaps John did not understand everything he saw either. The purpose of the seal visions is probably to give an overview of this world and its events. The seal visions tell us what it is like to live in a world of sin.

When the first seal is broken, one of the four living creatures says, "Come," and John sees a white horse and a rider wearing a crown, who is presented as a great conqueror. It has been thought that this depicts the gospel conquering the world. This may be the case.

However, it is more likely that these are world conquerors, of whom there have been a large number throughout human history. They have conquered and their kingdoms have ruled powerfully for a while until new conquerors have come. The latter interpretation is also supported by the fact that in the future we will talk about plagues that people will have to suffer. Plagues are often the result of someone deciding to go out and conquer. Great warlords have ridden white horses, and therefore this rider also has a white horse.

The Second Seal 6:3-4

When the second seal is broken, a red horse and its rider ride forth. The rider is given power to cause wars. Human history shows that the red horse is on the move. New conquerors arise, and with them new wars. Wars are a constant reality, and they have become bloodier over the centuries. Despite good efforts, lasting peace has not been achieved—and will not be achieved—in a world fallen into sin.

The Third Seal 6:5-6

When Jesus opens the third seal, a new plague is described that will test the world. A rider on a black horse sets off. John hears a voice speaking of a quart of wheat and a denarius. A quart of wheat means the amount of grain that a person needs in a day. A denarius is the amount of money that an ordinary worker earns in a day. The vision of a black horse therefore means famine and hunger.

The head of the family can only buy one ration of wheat with his daily wage. He has to make do with barley, which has been the food of the poor. But even that only gives him three rations, and that is not enough for a large family. Oil and wine obviously describe products that the rich buy for themselves. They are available - as long as there is money to buy them.

Famine has been experienced numerous times throughout human history. Even today, a large proportion of people live without adequate food. There are also areas near us where this vision of Revelation is also very true. So the black horse is on the move.

Jesus told his disciples about the future of the world shortly before his death (e.g., Matthew 24). He spoke, among other things, of wars in which nations will rise against nations, and of famines that will befall mankind. We notice a clear similarity to the visions of the seals. Jesus described the future of mankind in the same way to the disciples in Jerusalem as he did to John on Patmos.

The Fourth Seal 6:7-8

When the fourth seal is broken, a horse sets out, which is ashen-gray. The rider’s name is said to be Death, and Hades follows behind him. These bring about much of what their names indicate: disease, wars, famine, and other destructive things. Perhaps we wonder how a quarter of the earth can be destroyed. From the Middle Ages, we remember the plagues that raged in Europe and we know of human inventions that have the potential to destroy more than a quarter of the earth. So the vision is not necessarily symbolic.

These visions alone force us to ponder difficult questions: How can God allow so much evil to happen? Is he harsh and cruel? If he is all-powerful, why doesn't he stop the evil that the seal visions also describe?

If we blame God, we are certainly blaming the wrong person. Wars are hardly God's fault. We can rarely blame anyone but humans for famine. The real cause of all evil is us and the sin that lives in all of us. We hold grudges and cause wars. Because we are selfish, other people are deprived of adequate food. If God were to remove evil from the world, he would first have to remove us, who cause evil, from the world.

One day God's judgment will come and then evil will end. But it has not come yet - and that is God's great mercy towards us. God is waiting for many to find salvation before it is too late, and for as many as possible would be well when judgment begins.

It is also good to remember that God has a plan for this world and his plan progresses through many terrible stages. However, the goal of God's plan is good. Perhaps even bad things serve God's good plan. Through plagues, God draws people to himself. He expects that bad days will turn us towards him. There are many examples of this happening. Hard times usually bring us closer to God better than easy times.

Sometimes we have to accept that we don’t understand everything. God is much wiser than we are and knows what he is doing or why he allows evil, even if it seems completely incomprehensible to us. Once in heaven, we will surely understand that God acted wisely and rightly after all.

The Fifth Seal 6:9-11

The fifth seal is opened and John sees a crowd of martyrs. They pray to God that the day of judgment may come soon. The martyrs do not cry out for vengeance so much as for justice. On the last day, justice will prevail and all will be judged according to justice. On that day, the wickedness of the world will end. Life without any evil will begin in the new creation. Those who were killed for the word of God pray for the speedy coming of this day.

However, the Day of Judgment is not yet at hand. The martyrs are given a white garment, which depicts the purity that is true in heaven. The martyrs have arrived and are now safe from all evil. The white garment is a sign of that too. Then they are told to wait. Evil is still allowed to rage in the world and therefore there will be more who are killed because they believe in Jesus.

The Sixth Seal 6:12-17

Jesus opens the sixth seal and the universe shakes. The last day is near and something will happen that will make people tremble with fear. Jesus said the same thing to his disciples in Jerusalem:

..."the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."
(Matthew 24:29, ESV)

Something as revolutionary as the creation of the world will happen—only the direction of events will be reversed. When the end comes, people will flee from God and try to hide from his wrath. They would rather die than come before the face of the Holy One.