Chapter 6 - Overview of the Beginnings of Sorrows, the Great Tribulation, and the Day of Yehovah

Revelation Chapter 6: the "beginnings of sorrows" - the events of the first six seals: Antimessiah goes forth to conquer; aftermath of havoc and death; martyrdom of the redeemed; preview of the Day of the Yehovah ("the LORD") and the Wrath of Elohim ("God")

6:1-2 (a) Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with (b) a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, (c) a white horse. (d) He who sat on it had (e) a bow; and (f) a crown was given to him, and he went out (g) conquering and to conquer.

a. “Now I saw” or “Then I saw” (KJV) is a common phrase in Revelation that introduces a shift in what is seen, not necessarily a change in time period. Now that the stage has been set on Earth (Chapters 2 and 3) and in Heaven (Chapters 4 and 5), what will happen in the future (“which will take place after this” - 1:19; 4:1) begins to be revealed to John with the breaking of the first seal.

b. Thunder” indicates something radically different and ominous about to happen.

c. “White horse” is the symbol of a conqueror. When the Messiah returns as King of Kings to defeat His foes and establish His kingdom on Earth, He is depicted as riding on a white horse (19:11). This, however, is not the true Messiah, because (1) the Lamb is the one opening the seal, not the one revealed in the opening of the seal; (2) it occurs at the beginning rather than at the end of the Final Seven Years; (3) his weapon is a bow - a worldly weapon; Yeshua ("Jesus") will destroy His enemies with a “sword” that comes from His mouth (His Word - cf. Ephesians 6:17); and (4) after the Messiah returns at the end of the seven years and defeats His enemies, He will establish peace on Earth, rather than His victory being followed by all the terrible events portrayed in the breaking of the succeeding six seals, especially the martyrdom of His People (6:9-10).

d. The rider of this white horse represents the spirit of the anti-messiah, who will control the rulers of the earth during the first half of the Final Seven Years (cf. 1 John 2:18). At the midpoint of the Final Seven Years, the literal anti-messiah - the evil “prince who is to come” (Daniel 9:26), the “man of sin,” the “son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), the “lawless one” (2 Thessalonians 2:9), “Antimessiah” (1 John 2:18), and the “beast” who rises out of the sea (13:1)—will establish his global kingdom on earth (cf. the commentary on 17:17). Antimessiah’s role as world conqueror during the Final Seven Years, until the plagues of the judgments of Adonai ("the Lord") destroy his global kingdom (cf. Daniel 11:36), will become clear as we proceed through the Revelation.

e. The bow is the most common biblical symbol of war. But notice that there is no mention of this conqueror having arrows. Although the lack of arrows may not have significance, both Daniel and Revelation plus other passages of Scripture, indicate that the evil prince who is to come will conquer, at least during the first half of the seven years, not by brute force but primarily by sinister intrigue - by deceiving the world into following him (cf Daniel 8:23, 25; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; Revelation 13:3, 4).  

f. His authority to rule is given to him by Satan (13:4). This is another indication that this conqueror is not Yeshua. The true Messiah has no need to be given the authority to rule the world, which He, as Elohim the Son, created (John 1:1-3). The “crown” he wears is actually a wreath (Greek: stephanos), as worn by Greek or Roman conquerors - not the same as the “crowns” (Greek: diadema) that will be worn by the King of Kings when He returns with the armies of Heaven to restore His kingdom on Earth (19:12, 14, 16).

g. Antimessiah’s obsession is to conquer the world and fully establish it as his kingdom in the place of the rightful King of Kings, as Satan wanted to supplant Yehovah in Heaven (cf. Isaiah 14:13-14). “Antimessiah” (1 John 4:3) in the Greek does not just mean “against the Messiah,” it also means “in the place of the Messiah.” He is the false messiah. The white horse and "crown" also seem to indicate that this is not some dark, sinister-appearing figure, but is the counterfeit messiah whom the whole world will follow and worship (13:3, 4).

6:3-4 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to (a) the one who sat on it to (b) take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him (c) a great sword.

a. The rider of the red horse may be a fallen archangel. There is a hierarchy of fallen angels, just as there is a hierarchy of heavenly angels. And just as Satan will give Antimessiah authority to rule Earth (13:4, 5), he gives fallen archangels authority over large realms and activity on Earth (cf. the “Prince of Persia” - Daniel 10:13).

b. Rather than resulting in “peace on Earth,” as during the coming reign of the Messiah, the reign of Antimessiah will result in widespread violence, bloodshed, and war.

c. The sword is a symbol of violence and bloodshed in general.

6:5-6 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had (a) a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard (b) a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, (c) “A quart of wheat for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

a. Balance scales were used by merchants in the ancient world to weigh out portions of grain.

b. The only One seen in the midst of the living creatures is Yehovah (cf. 4:6, 9; 5:6). Although He does not directly cause the terrible events of the first four seals to occur, Yehovah is ultimately in control of everything that happens on Earth and allows Satan, who has come to “steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10), to bring them about, for several possible reasons, including: (1) setting Satan up to think that he is in total control of what happens on Earth, (2) sifting and refining His chosen People (cf. Psalm 66:10-12), and (3) partially executing His judgment - allowing those who refuse to repent to reap the consequences of their wickedness.

c. A denarius represented a day’s wage. A quart of wheat or three quarts of barley provided barely enough food for a family to subsist on for a day or two. Oil and wine were luxury items, which, in times of famine (which inevitably follow wars), only the wealthy could afford. Therefore, what Yehovah seems to be telling the rider of the black horse is, “Let the poor suffer, but do not harm the food of the wealthy,” which could, ironically, be a curse on the wealthy because those who are poor and who suffer are much more likely to repent and accept Yehovah’s salvation than are those who prosper (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26; James 2:5).

6:7-8 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was (a) Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over (b) a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with (c) death, and by (d) the beasts of the earth.

a. Some think that Death and Hades are personified places or conditions, but they may also be fallen angels: Death, the angel that separates the soul from the body, and Hades, the angel that carries the soul to its waiting place until the Final Judgment. Death is not cessation of existence; it is a separation. Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body, and spiritual death is the separation of the soul from Yehovah. As power is given to the riders of the first three horses, power is given to Death and Hades to kill (separate from life) and consign to Hades. Then, after the resurrection of the unsaved, Death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire (the final “Hell”) (20:14).

b. The population of the earth at the present time (2019) is about 7.7 billion people. That means that if the events of the fourth seal occurred today, about 1.9 billion people would die. At the present time, there are widespread wars, famines, diseases, natural catastrophes, and other causes of death on the earth, but, as is apparent, during the few years of the opening of the seals of Revelation, the suffering and carnage will increase exponentially and there will be no mistaking that we are at the “beginning of sorrows”  at the “End of the Age”  (Matthew 24:3, 8).

c. As was explained in the commentary on 2:23, “kill with death” is a Hebrew idiom that means to die a horrible, miserable death.

d. “Beasts of the earth” may refer not only to hungry animals seeking whom they may devour due to the famine, but to pestilence: disease-causing agents which result from unsanitary conditions and conditions of malnourishment, which are caused by wars and famine. So, the events of one seal lead to those of the next, indicating that they are in chronological order.

    The events that occur as the first four seals are broken, terrible as they are, are not manifestations of either the Great Tribulation (the wrath of Satan) or the Wrath of Elohim ("God").  The events revealed by the breaking of the first four seals are pointed out to John by the living creatures which apparently represent the natural creation.  They are natural manifestations and consequences as the anti-messiah goes forth conquering and to conquer.  And they parallel exactly the events of the first half of the seven years—before the “abomination of desolation”—that Yeshua described, calling them the “beginnings of sorrows” (Matthew 24:4-8; 15; Mark 13:8).  Notice also that the seals are on the outside of the scroll.  So, they are an overview of the events of the entire Final Seven Years.  They must be opened first, before the details of the events of the last half of the seven years—the Great Tribulation and the judgments and Wrath of Elohim are revealed (chapters 7-16).

6:9-11 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw (a) under the altar the souls of those who had been slain (b) for the word of [Yehovah] and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O [Yehovah], holy and true, until (c) You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then (d) a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, (e) until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

a. John’s attention is shifted back to Heaven where the souls of the martyrs are seen under the altar. This may be an allusion to the fact that the blood of sacrifices was poured at the base of the altar in the Tabernacle and the Temple on Earth (cf. Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:7), although Yeshua is the New Covenant sacrifice for sin (cf. Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 5:2) and it is the blood of the Lamb of Yehovah that is poured out for the Redeemed (1 Peter 1:19). However, there were two altars in the Temple on Earth - the Altar of Sacrifice, also called the altar of burnt offering or the table of Yehovah, and the Altar of Incense. The Altar of Sacrifice was located outside the Temple in the Court of the Gentiles. The Altar of Incense, also called the golden altar (8:3), was in the Temple proper in front of the curtain over the entrance into the Holy of Holies. In 11:1 John is told to measure the Temple and the altar, but to omit the court outside the Temple because it was given to the Gentiles (had apparently served its purpose as a place of sacrifice and has no place in the New Jerusalem). So, it is apparently under the Altar of Incense (because incense represents the prayers of the Saints [5:8] and it is at that altar where incense, with the prayers of the Saints, is offered to the Lord [8:3; 8:4]) that these souls are located. According to rabbinic tradition, the souls of all the Saints throughout history are stored under the altar. So, just because the souls of the martyrs are seen by John does not mean that the souls of all the Redeemed who have died, martyrs and non-martyrs, are not there. And there is even less reason to think that these are the souls of only those who are martyred during the Final Seven Years, as many propose.

b. The martyrs were slain for the “word of [Yehovah],” that is, for speaking the Truth, and for the “testimony which they held,” that is, for testifying that Yeshua is Adonai ("the Lord"). Not in the U.S.A. (yet) but in other parts of the world, there are more being martyred today for speaking the Truth and holding to the Testimony of the the Messiah than at any other time in history, including the first and second centuries ABM (After the Birth of the Messiah) when the Revelation was written. For example, in Somalia, which is over 99% Muslim, Yahudim ("Jews"), and Believers in Yeshua are aggressively sought out and slain, and all but exterminated.

c. This is another indication, even after the first four seals have been broken, that the Wrath of Elohim has not yet begun to be poured out. That is what these souls are appealing to Yehovah to happen. As with the blood of Abel crying out to Yehovah against his murderer, Cain (Genesis 4:10), the souls of the martyred Saints cry out to Yehovah for vengeance against their persecutors - "those who dwell on the earth."³ Some may object, “Well, that is not very "Christian" of them. Are we not supposed to forgive our persecutors?” But these souls are in Heaven - the purely spiritual realm - where the secrets of people’s hearts and their ultimate destiny is known. Of course, these martyrs are not crying out against those who will repent and be saved.

d. The martyrs are not yet resurrected. Although a white robe, a symbol of righteousness (19:8) worn by many of the Heavenly beings (overcomers - 3:4-5, 18; the elders - 4:4; the innumerable multitude - 7:9; the armies of Heaven - 19:14; Yeshua Himself - Luke 9:29; and angels - Mark 16:5, 20:12), is given to each of them, they are told to “rest a little while longer.” “Rest” or “sleep” in that part of Hades (the abode of the souls of the deceased) called “Abraham’s bosom“ (Luke 16:22) or “Paradise” (Luke 23:43) is a term in Scripture for the state of the Redeemed after they have died physically (cf. John 11:11-13). The souls of the unredeemed are in that part of Hades which is not a place of rest, but of torment (cf. Luke 16:23).

e. The Greek grammar is a little confusing here, but apparently, “fellow servants” and “brethren” are two different groups of the Redeemed. Otherwise, why would Yehovah use the term, “both”? And apparently, the difference between the two groups is that “fellow servants” refers to those Believers who are not martyred, and “brethren who would killed as they were” refers to those who will be martyred. In other words, what the Word seems to be saying here is that the number of both those who are saved but not martyred and those who are martyred is limited. And the time of the persecution of the Believers, whether or not they are martyred, is limited. In fact, this period of “great tribulation” (7:14) is limited to a short period of time (“a little while longer,” or, in the KJV, “a little season”), which will be seen, as we continue through Revelation, is limited to the last half of the Final Seven Years. No doubt, this was also included in the Revelation to encourage those first century Believers and Believers who are persecuted throughout history to know that their time of suffering is limited to a very short period of time (compared to eternity).

6:12-14 And I looked (a) when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, (b) there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of (c)heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. (b continued) Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

a. And the next event on Yehovah’s seven-year agenda, after the Great Tribulation of the Saints, is that the martyrs begin to see their prayers answered with the sudden beginning of the often- and long-prophesied Day of Yehovah (cf. especially Joel 2:1-2, 10; 3:15-16; Matthew 24:29).

b. And what awful, cataclysmic events occur! There are hundreds of “stars” that fall from the sky, impacting the earth and causing an earthquake so powerful that every mountain and island is moved out of its place, the sun is darkened to almost total darkness and the moon is darkened by a dark red haze by the smoke and debris from the explosions, and the sky seems to disappear like a scroll being rolled up as the heat from the impact explosions evaporate the water in the atmosphere. Note that every one of the above phenomena occur when a nuclear bomb explodes: a large nuclear explosion can cause earthquakes, darkening of the sun and moon by the cloud of smoke and ash it produces, and the blue sky to disappear, revealing the blackness beyond. But scientific studies have shown that a comet or comet fragments impacting the earth will produce exactly the same results.⁴

c. “Heaven” in Scripture may refer to the visible, blue sky (the atmosphere surrounding the earth), space beyond Earth’s atmosphere, far outer space beyond Earth’s solar system, or Heaven where the Yehovah dwells, depending on the context. In this context, it would appear to refer to outer space beyond Earth’s solar system where there is a cloud of billions of comets, called the Oort Cloud, surrounding our solar system. It is apparently this cloud of comets to which Job 38:22-23 refers where it speaks of the treasuries or storehouses of snow and ice (comets are giant balls of snow, ice, dirt and other substances).

6:15-17 (a) And (b) the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, (c) hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of (d) Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For (e) the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

a. These three verses are key verses in the Revelation and give us some very important insights into the correct interpretation of the whole book.

b. After the breaking of the sixth seal, every person on the earth - great or common, slave or free - reacts in terror to the events that occur, knowing that they are caused by Elohim.

c. And the people on the earth (the “earth dwellers”)³ would rather be crushed by rocks or in the flattened caves of mountains than to face the Wrath of Elohim. It is interesting to note that, although the catastrophes that occur at the breaking of the sixth seal are natural occurrences, the earth dwellers know that it is ultimately Elohim who is causing these events.⁴  Every person, even the most hardened “atheist,” knows, somewhere deep in his soul, that there is a God and that if he is not saved, he is going to have to face the Wrath of Elohim someday. Also, the fact that they would rather be crushed by the mountains and the rocks than face the wrath of the Father and the Son may indicate that the earth dwellers’ terror is anticipatory of the ultimate judgment and wrath of Yehovah when they will be cast into the lake of fire 20:15).

d. Here is another key to fully understanding the Revelation: the Wrath of Elohim ("God") is not just the Wrath of Yehovah the Father, but of Yeshua the Son (the Lamb). As we will see, the Son is fully involved, in Heaven and on Earth, in the orchestration and execution of the Wrath of Elohim. He is in Heaven and on Earth  (as we will see) and traveling back and forth between Heaven and Earth participating in all the events that affect His creation during the Final Seven Years, and afterwards.

e.   As has already been explained, the events of the sixth seal are not the manifestations of the judgments and Wrath of Elohim, which are the events on the inside of the scroll and begin with the opening of the seventh seal (cf. 8:1, 7).  The events of the sixth seal are the last part of the overview of the entire seven years and are a preview of the beginning of the Day of  Yehovah  (cf. Joel 3:14, 15;  Matthew 24:29; Acts 2:20) which occurs at the end of the seven years, when the “last plagues”—the plagues of the “Wrath of [Elohim]" (15:1)—will be poured out on Earth. 

    At this point, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we can fill in more details included in the events that are revealed when the six seals are broken.  Some of those details are given to us through the prophet Daniel who told us of the coming of the anti-messiah who will sign a “strong covenant” (Hebrew: gabar beriyth) with Israel for seven years (the Final Seven Years) but treacherously will break that treaty at the midpoint of the seven years and set up the "abomination of desolation" (himself as "God") in the Temple (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).  He will then, after pursuing Yehovah's people Israel into the "wilderness," where they will be protected for three and one-half years, persecute Yehovah’s People the Followers of Yeshua (the Great Tribulation), martyring most of them (except those specially protected by Yehovah) during that last half of the seven years (Revelation 12:12-17; Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5, 7, 15). Yeshua also foretold the events previewed by the six seals, which are an overview of the Final Seven Years, for his Disciples by outlining them exactly as described in Revelation 6, including the same details that Daniel foretold, with special emphasis on the Great Tribulation (which begins with the “abomination of desolation”) and the cataclysmic sixth seal events that preview the bowls of the Wrath of Elohim being poured out (cf. Matthew 24:5-29).
    To understand all of the details of the Final Seven Years and beyond, keep reading.

³The term "earth dwellers" as used in this commentary refers to either Jews (Israelites) or Gentiles who do not believe in their hearts either in the coming Messiah or that Yeshua is the Messiah, Elohim ("God") incarnate (although they may say with their mouths that they do).

⁴There is much disagreement and confusion among Bible expositors concerning the disasters and plagues of the Day and the Wrath of Elohim. The causes of these terrible, soon-coming events have been attributed variously to nuclear explosions, extraordinary natural catastrophes, attacks by demonic creatures, human warfare and direct action of the Lord.
    However, ancient civilizations, including those of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hebrews and Greeks, in recognition that a supernatural power ultimately controls celestial objects, attributed catastrophes like those prophesied in the Revelation to the gods who they believed used the “stars” (comets and meteors) as “messengers” of their wrath against Earth’s inhabitants with whom they were displeased.
   Although such beliefs have been largely dismissed by modern “rational” and scientific “authorities,” there are many indications in Scripture that Yehovah has used comets or comet fragments as His “weapons of indignation” to execute His judgments (e.g., Job 38:22-23; Isaiah 13:3-5). The descriptions of many of the disasters brought on those opposed to Yehovah and the enemies of His People (the destructions of Babylon and of Sodom and Gomorrah, some of the “plagues” brought on Egypt, and so forth) exactly match what scientists have learned during just the past half century about the effects of comets and comet fragments exploding in Earth’s atmosphere or impacting the ground. And scientist Jeffrey Goodman’s thoroughly researched and documented book The Comets of God (Tucson, AZ: Archaeological Research Books, LLC, 2011) convincingly explains that every one of the Revelation’s descriptions of the catastrophes of this chapter (verses 12-17), the trumpet (chapters 8 and 9) and bowl (chapter 16) catastrophes, as well as the annihilation of Babylon the Great (chapters 17 and 18), may indicate the results of the impact of one or more comets, comet fragments, meteorites or asteroids with the earth or exploding in the atmosphere above the earth.
   Therefore, although this writer will not be dogmatic about the causes of the catastrophes of the judgments and the Wrath of Yehovah Elohim ("the LORD God") and recognizes that other factors (e.g., demonic activity or nuclear holocaust) may be involved, in this commentary, the causes of those terrible events as presented in The Comets of God are considered plausible, even from a scientific point of view.  For fascinating details about how any of the catastrophes of the judgments and the Wrath of Elohim, as presented in the Revelation, may very well be caused by cometary impact, read about them in The Comets of God or visit www.thecometsofgod.com.

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