Revelation 6

I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, “Come and see!”

Then a white horse appeared, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!”

Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come and see!” And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand.

I heard a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, “A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don’t damage the oil and the wine!”

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see!”

And behold, a pale horse, and the name of he who sat on it was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had.

They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.

I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.

The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.

The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.

They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

for the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview. This chapter unfolds the opening of the first six of seven seals on the scroll held by the Lamb, revealing a series of visions that depict escalating judgments upon the earth: conquest, war, famine, death, the cry of martyrs, and cosmic upheaval signaling the approach of divine wrath.

Flow.

The first four seals introduce four riders on horses—white, red, black, and pale—each representing a facet of earthly judgment: false peace, warfare, scarcity, and death.
The fifth seal shifts from terrestrial to heavenly scenes, showing the souls of martyrs beneath the altar crying out for justice, receiving assurance that their vindication awaits a future time.
The sixth seal breaks into cosmic dimensions: earthquakes, celestial disturbances, and the terrified reaction of all humanity as the day of God’s wrath appears imminent.

Connections. Following chapter 5, where the slain Lamb is declared worthy to open the scroll, this chapter enacts that very opening, translating the triumph of Christ into judgments that unfold history toward its end. The scroll’s seals reveal that redemption and judgment are twin movements of God’s plan, as the worship of heaven (ch. 5) gives way to the travail of the earth (ch. 6). The martyrs’ cry for justice in this chapter, deferred but not denied, prepares the way for the sealing of God’s servants in chapter 7, which answers the question of who will endure the coming wrath.

What it teaches. The unfolding of the seals reveals that God governs history, ordering even suffering, war, and death under the sovereignty of the Lamb (WCF 5.5; LC 20). The cry of the martyrs acknowledges that justice belongs to God, who will neither ignore oppression nor act prematurely (WCF 3.7; HC LD 10). The cosmic signs accompanying the sixth seal reflect the scriptural expectation of a final day when creation itself will be shaken before the throne of God (Heb. 12:26; cf. WCF 8.8), and only those found in Christ will be able to stand—a truth foreshadowed in the coming sealing of God’s people. The judgments are not random but are covenantal consequences, consistent with God’s warnings in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 32, now seen in apocalyptic form.

Apply. Trust that Christ, though unseen, holds history firmly in hand, even when suffering and injustice seem to triumph.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.