Opening Seals (6.1-8.5)
"Come, Lord Jesus," CFP white cover, Watchman Nee
"Come, Lord Jesus," CFP white cover, Watchman Nee
Are the six seals in chapter 6 already fulfilled, in the process of being fulfilled, or waiting to be fulfilled in the tribulation to come? There are two evidences to show that these are either fulfilled already or in the process of being fulfilled.
(1) In 5.2 it is declared: "Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" But by the time of 5.7 the Lamb has taken the book. Will He thereafter wait two thousand years before He opens the seven seals?
(2) Unless God in His dealing is setting aside the church, He cannot acknowledge He is now dealing with the Jews. Yes, by the time of 7.1-8 God does begin to acknowledge the Jews and to choose them as His servants. But this section in chapter 7 follows upon the sixth seal. It therefore logically indicates that the time before the sixth seal is the time of the church.
From these two evidences we may conclude that the six seals are either already fulfilled or in the process of being fulfilled.
6.1-2 "ONE OF THE SEVEN SEALS . . . A WHITE HORSE"
Why use four living creatures to announce the four horses? Perhaps for the simple reason that there are four horses.
6.2 What is the significance of the white horse? There are three different interpretations.
(1) It refers to Antichrist. The reasons are as follows:
a) Christ does not ride on a white horse till in the time of chapter 19. So that this incident cannot refer to Him.
b) In speaking of the tribulation, Matthew 24 relates four things, among which are mentioned false christs. Naturally, then, what is being referred to here should be the false christ.
c) There being a bow but without an arrow indicates that the victory is not real. Thus this cannot refer to Christ.
(2) It alludes to international peace pacts, and the arguments for this interpretation are as follows:
a) White is the color of righteousness, hence the saints wear white garments and the Lord rides upon a white horse. This is peace brought in through righteousness.
b) A bow without an arrow is a sign of peace. International peace is thus maintained with righteous might.
(3) It points to Christ, and the reasons given for this interpretation are as follows:
a) Since the one who rides the white horse mentioned in chapter 19 is Christ, it naturally must be Christ in chapter 6.
b) Since power and authority rendered to the other three horses are given by God, that of the first horse must also be given by God. And whom will God crown except Christ?
c) Only Christ comes forth conquering and to conquer.
d) Christ must have taken the bow before He was crowned. A bow without an arrow implies that the arrow has already been shot and that thus it has dealt the devil a fatal wound. God therefore crowns Christ that He may be glorified.
e) Concerning the four horses, only in 6.4 is the word "another" used, thus intimating that the first horse is different from the later three horses.
f) The priority in God’s plan is that His Son shall conquer—and His conquest is the victory of the gospel. (One of the four living creatures says "Come" [in some old manuscripts it is rendered "Go"], for the living creatures themselves do not speak with the tone of command.) Which of the three interpretations is correct? The third one (pointing to Christ) seems to be more reasonable, hence we will decide on Christ.
6.3-4 "THE SECOND SEAL . . . A RED HORSE"
Red is the color of blood. Taking peace away means war.
The first horse (white) conquers by the bow, so it is battling at a distance. The red horse fights with a sword, so it is battling in proximity. The phrase "to take peace from the earth" proves that war is for the sake of war, not for the sake of ideology. War that aims at "slay(ing) one another" is considered by the Bible to be the worst kind. It accomplishes nothing but death, destruction, and annihilation (Judges 7.22; Zech. 8.10; Jer. 25.15-31; Lev. 26.25).
6.5-6 "THE THIRD SEAL . . . A BLACK HORSE"
Black is the color for famine (Jer. 14.1-3; Lam. 4.8,9; 5.10). In the Bible, wheat and barley are usually shown as being sold by measure; balances are used to weigh precious things. But a balance is here used for wheat and barley, which indicates that every grain is taken into account.
"A measure of wheat for a shilling"—In Matthew 20.2 we find that the wages for a laborer are one shilling a day. This is therefore the daily wages for one person. So what he earns is just enough for his own consumption.
"And three measures of barley for a shilling"—The difference in value between wheat and barley is normally stated in the ratio of one to two, but at this time it has become a ratio of one to three (see 2 Kings 7.16, 18 for the one-to-two ratio).
"And the oil and the wine hurt thou not"—This hints that oil and wine were wasted in other times since they are not staple food. But now they ought not be wasted for it is the time of famine. Nevertheless, this also suggests that vines and olive trees are being kept by God.
For the past two thousand years war and famine and earthquake have increased in number and scope as well as in intensity and in closer occurrence to each other.
6.7-8 "THE FOURTH SEAL. . . A PALE HORSE"
The word "pale" here is the same Greek word translated "green" in Mark 6.39 and Revelation 8.7 and 9.4. Green is the color of grass. When this color appears on the face it signifies either sickness or death. And hence the name of the one who sits on this pale horse is called Death.
"Hades" is the subterranean, unseen world. Hades here serves as a dustpan into which the dead are swept.
By the sword of the red horse, the famine of the black horse, and the pestilence of the pale horse, plus the wild beasts of the earth, one fourth of the world’s population will be killed.
The use of "wild beasts" is one of God’s severest judgments (Num. 21.6; 2 Kings 2.24, 17.25).
6.9-11 "THE FIFTH SEAL . . . UNDERNEATH THE ALTAR THE SOULS . . . CRIED"
The Bible frequently divides the number seven into four and three or three and four. Three is the number of God, and four is the number of man. Four followed by three means that man advances and draws nigh to God. Three followed by four indicates a falling from a good position to the lower level of man. Since the churches are seen and discussed in chapters 2 and 3 as first three and then four, they are depicted as going downhill. But the seven seals are mentioned in a cluster of four first and of three next, so that what is expressed here is different from what is expressed in the discussion of the seven churches.
What this passage of Scripture speaks of is the situation of the church being persecuted during these two thousand years.
6.9 "The word of God" includes all the commandments of God.
"And for the testimony which they held" means that the believers bear witness to the testimony of the Lord Jesus habitually (Rev. 1.2, 6.9, 12.17). Some people maintain that this passage does not refer to the church under persecution because it has not mentioned that they held to the testimony of Jesus. Instead, the passage should be considered as referring to the persecution of the Old Testament saints. Yet if we remember that the purpose of this whole book is centered around the testimony of Jesus, then "the testimony which they held" must be in connection with the same testimony, and therefore it must be the Lord’s children in view here.
"The altar"—The Bible speaks of two altars: (1) that upon which the sacrifices are offered, and (2) the golden altar of incense. One renowned writer declared that all the altars in the book of Revelation should be translated as altars of incense. But there is not sufficient justification for such an assertion.
On the contrary, the altar here must be the altar of sacrifices—for the following reasons.
(1) According to Old Testament typology, no one should go up to the altar with his nakedness uncovered (Ex. 20.26). This signifies that no naked body can meet God. Anyone who does not have a resurrection body is considered naked, and therefore he cannot appear before God. For this reason, 2 Corinthians 5.4 speaks about being "clothed upon" with a new body. (After a person is dead, his soul does not go to God right away.) Without resurrection, no one can stand beside the golden altar of incense.
(2) When the Bible speaks of altar, it always refers to the altar of sacrifice. Special descriptive words such as "golden", "incense", and so forth are used to refer to the golden altar of incense so as to distinguish it from the altar standing in the outer court.
(3) The blood of all the sacrifices flows down underneath the altar (Ex. 29.12; Lev. 4.7, 5.9).
(4) There is life in the blood, and this word "life" in the original Hebrew is the word "soul" (Lev. 17.11 mg., 17.14). "Underneath the altar" means underneath the earth. The altar typifies the cross; beneath the cross is the earth. Hence underneath the altar here refers to Paradise in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12.40). We notice the following clause in Acts 2.27: "because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades"; moreover, in Numbers 16.32 it is stated that "the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods" (Not only may no man appear before God without a body, neither may he enter the lake of fire without a body.).
"Slain"—During the Roman era, Christians were persecuted and many were slain. The writer of the book of Revelation, John himself, was among the persecuted. Even as recently as in modern Russia, countless numbers of Christians have been killed.
6.10 "O Master, the holy and true"—Govett felt that this was the way the Old Testament saints addressed the Lord, yet in Revelation 3.7 the Lord himself told the church tha
t He is the one who is holy and true. Thus we here find the saints addressing the Lord.
"Them that dwell on the earth"—Such an expression is found many times in this book (8.13; 13.8,12; 13.14; 14.6; 17.2,8). It refers to those who make earth their home and have their all on earth. These will God judge. According to 3.10 the hour of trial will come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The prayer here is not the same as Stephen’s, for Stephen prayed for God’s mercy while the prayer in this passage is for judgment. Hence the saints here are praying against sinners.
"Avenge our blood"—God does not forget the prayer of the poor (Ps. 9.12). When God begins to judge those who have persecuted the saints, He avenges His saints.
6.11 "White robe"—This shows that God has justified them because they were accepted by Him. The justification here is different from that of salvation since this is the verdict of God who on the throne is announcing that the saints have won the case, they only waiting for the verdict to be executed.
"Rest yet for a little time"—This word alone may prove that the church cannot be raptured all at once, because this waiting implies a long and protracted persecution.
"Until their fellow-servants also and their brethren"—During the Great Tribulation there will be great slaughter. In 7.13-15 political persecution is spoken of, but 17.6 refers to religious persecution. The way for the church is through death.
The Bible seems to imply that at the first rapture there is no resurrection. The phrase "underneath the altar" does not refer to death as a result of a sin-offering, rather it alludes to death as a consequence of a burnt-offering (Ex. 40.6,10,29; Lev. 4.7,10,18; 1 Chron. 6.49, 16.40, 21.29; 2 Chron. 29.18).
What men take note of is the sin-offering, but that which God sees first is the burnt-offering. Although without the Lord Jesus ever being the sin-offering we would none of us have life, nevertheless God will not accept anything without Christ being the burnt-offering—that is to say, His offering His all to God in obeying and doing God’s will. Here do we see that even His death on the cross is according to the will of God. In that same spirit of Christ Paul too offered himself as a burnt-offering (Phil. 2.17; 2 Tim. 4.6). Throughout his life he was a living sacrifice.
All the martyrs shall enter the kingdom to reign. Three classes of people will reign with Christ (20.4): (1) "thrones, and they sat upon them"—this refers to those people such as are cited in 3.21; (2) "them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God" (they are now resurrected)—here it is a reference to those people as are found mentioned in 6.11; and (3) "such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image"—this is referring to those fellow-servants and their brethren mentioned in 6.11 (they also are resurrected).
6.12-17 "THE SIXTH SEAL . . . A GREAT EARTHQUAKE"
The Bible gives two accounts in Joel and Matthew of the celestial cataclysm and earthquake that are to occur at the second coming of the Lord. One cataclysmic event will occur in advance of the day of His coming and another one will follow the day of His return. In other words, one will happen before the Great Tribulation and another will occur after the Great Tribulation. Joel 3.16-17 and 2.30-31 describe what will happen before the great and terrible day of the Lord, that is, in advance of the Great Tribulation. On the other hand, Matthew 24.29-30 explains what will come to pass after these days of the Great Tribulation are over. Therefore, the sixth seal speaks of the situation prior to the Great Tribulation.
6.12-14 We dare not say this section has all been fulfilled, but neither dare we state that none of it has been fulfilled. A century ago some similar scenes happened in Australia, with people at that time manifesting the conditions as described in 6.15-16. Thus, what is given in this section seems to have been fulfilled. However, what is depicted in 6.14 has never been witnessed in history with such intensity, and therefore it waits to be fulfilled.
"Black as sackcloth of hair"—The tent used by the Jews as well as by the Arabs is made of black sackcloth, hence such a description.
"The stars of the heaven fell unto the earth"—(1) These stars may refer to meteors; and (2) Since some stars are far bigger than the earth, how can they fall upon the earth? Most likely they are to fall in a direction towards the earth rather than fall upon the earth.
6.15-16 This passage reveals the working of their conscience. They are conscious of the coming of God’s judgment. Only the blood of our Lord can give peace to our conscience and cause us to escape the wrath of God. How much more dependable the Blood is than the mountains and the rocks.
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