Bible Study - Revelation SIX

In this episode, we study Revelation Chapter 6 and the opening of the Seven Seals. As each seal is broken, we witness the release of the Four Horsemen, worldwide shaking, persecution, and the beginning of God’s judgment upon the earth.

This teaching walks through the chapter verse by verse using the New American Standard Bible while examining the prophetic significance of war, famine, death, martyrdom, and the fear that comes upon the nations during the Day of the Lord.

Join us as we discuss what Revelation 6 reveals about the end times, the sovereignty of Jesus Christ, and how believers are called to remain faithful and spiritually prepared in the days ahead.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Summit Church Podcast. Thank you for joining us as we share weekly sermons and teachings from Summit Church in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Our prayer is that today's message encourages your faith and helps you grow in your relationship with Jesus. Check out our website at summitchurchtn.com. Thanks for listening, and we pray this message encourages you today.

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I'll be there from this day all the way to returning back on Monday for a conference that we're doing there. So please be praying for us while we're in Peru. I am going to start chapter six tonight. I do have some stuff. You'll get your notes as well as a couple of images. You won't. I won't show all images on the screen, but you'll have some, and you will see some charts also detailing some stuff about this chapter that you get that you may see on this on the screen or not. Nevertheless, let's go ahead and get started into Revelation chapter six, the opening of the seals and the beginning of judgment. The purpose and the theme of this chapter is that the lamb begins opening the seals and judgment begins unfolding upon the earth. There are consequences of rebellion against God that become visible. Chapter six is going to introduce us to the four horsemen. Global instability, persecution, cosmic disturbance, and the beginning of the stages of divine judgment. The seals are going to reveal God's sovereignty over history, the seriousness of sin, the reality of the coming judgment, and the certainty of Christ's authority over the earth. Overall, it is about the Lamb who redeemed humanity. It's also the Lamb who possesses authority to judge the earth and to help unfold God's prophetic plan. So, before we get started in this chapter, there are a lot of debates and arguments, you know, theologically, when we get into this stuff, but I want to give you some kind of an idea. Let's say, for example, that the rapture did occur in Revelation chapter one. We went over chapter five last week. Now we're coming into chapter six. So, what does this mean potentially and possibly, whether or not it is the rapture or it is not? Well, I said that whether it is the rapture itself. So I I got this right here for you to look at. This is basically an understanding if the rapture was to happen in Revelation chapter four, as previously discussed, but you would have this timeline right here. You have the first coming of Christ, which is the church age, Revelation 1 and 3. Uh, we see that when we remember what we went over. Then you see the trumpet blast in Revelation 4 and 5, the rapture. Revelation 6 begins the tribulation period. So Revelation 6 through the 18 is going to be uh this tribulate this tribulation period, and then revelation 19. We're gonna have the second coming of Christ, Revelation 20. We get into the millennial, and Revelation 21 and 22, the new heaven and new earth. So this sort of gives you a little bit of a timeline to understand what it what we're looking at. Now, I want to give you another one, if I can here. Now, this is another kind of timeline to look at that we're gonna be going over tonight. You if the rapture is in Revelation chapter four, you have the uh seven sealed scrolls beginning in Revelation chapter six, and it's gonna go all the way through chapter eight, and then you'll see the seven trumpets, and you get the woes, first row, second woe. But all those events are going to be happening within the first three and a half years of tribulation. I want you to see this because even let's say that the rapture did not occur in Revelation chapter one, and let's say that you are going through the first three and a half years of a tribulation period. You see this timeline to understand going forward what we're going to be looking at and why it's important for us to get some kind of concept of what it is that we're to where we are on the the way things are laid out. So let's begin in Revelation chapter six, verse one and two. When I saw, then I saw when the lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with the voice of thunder, come. I looked and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. It's an interesting passage of scripture. John sees the lamb open that first seal. One of the four living creatures says, Come and see. What is it that John sees? Well, he saw a white horse. He saw a rider with a bow, saw a crown that was given to him, and he was going to conquer going forth to be that conqueror. Why a white horse? Well, in this case, the white horse is symbolizing a false peace. I'll detail this more later. False righteousness and a deceptive conquest. Here's the thing. At first glance, some believe that the rider resembles Christ because Jesus also returns on a white horse in Revelation 19. However, the context reveals that this is not Christ. We know that the rider represents a counterfeit ruler, a false Messiah, and the Antichrist. But why is this not Jesus? Because in Revelation 19, we see him riding on a white horse. Well, here in Revelation 6, the writer carries a bow, not a sword. A crown was given to him, and he ruled in a way that leads to war, famine, death, and destruction. I know I shouldn't have to say this, but I need to bring this up that Jesus brings true peace, true righteousness, and a final victory. Whereas we're going to see how this writer brings deception, false security, and a global domination. The writer does represent more than one individual alone. There is a representation of a spirit of deception, a false messianic leadership, and humanity organizing an all-out rebellion against God. Ultimately, this is going to accumulate into the final antichrist figure. When we look at this, we can also go back and see that what we're reading right here in verses one and two with the white horse, it connects with Second Thessalonians chapter two, the book of Daniel, chapter nine, and specifically the warning of Jesus in Matthew 24. One of the things that's interesting about this description is there are no arrows mentioned. He just has a bow. If we understand a bow and arrow, a bow is not that great at taking prayer or whatever. You gotta have that arrow, but there's no arrows mentioned. So why the bow? Well, there's a couple of things that it could suggest. Number one, it could suggest conquest through diplomacy. Number two, political manipulation. Number three, deceptive agreements. Number four, a false peace before destruction. The first judgment that is released upon the earth is deception. Before there can be any destruction that spreads openly, humanity must first embrace the counterfeit leadership. Which does mean that the Antichrist will initially appear as a solution to the world's problems before becoming a source of unprecedented destruction. Revelation chapter six, verse three and four. When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come, and another red horse went out, and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another, and a great sword was given to him. When this second seal is opened, we see this fiery red horse appear. It is a rider that is granted authority to remove peace from the earth. Because he is granted this authority, we will see widespread violence, war, bloodshed, and humanity killing one another. Here the red horse symbolizes that destruction, the warfare, violence, and as we mentioned, also bloodshed. This time the rider carries a great sword. That reveals to us that this is a massive global conflict, it is escalating violence, and there is an international instability. That phrase take peace from the earth, that's a very important phrase. The writer does not create evil within mankind. Peace is removed. When that peace is removed, human depravity is unleashed. Without God's restraint, violence is going to increase rapidly, hatred is going to multiply, and destruction spreads. That somehow society simply needs better systems. But here the book of Revelation reveals that without God's restraining grace, violence consumes humanity. Conflict dominates nations. And sin destroys peace. God's restraint upon evil is one of the greatest unseen mercies in the world today. And when peace is removed, humanity reveals the true depth of its fallen condition. Verses five and six. When he broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come, behold, like horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hands, a quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius. And he did not damage the oil and the wine. Here, now, unlike the other two, is this black horse? The rider is holding scales, excuse me. And it is like if you can get in your mind the weighing of the scales, the balancing, because what the scales are going to symbolize is economic control. Ration or rationing the scarcity of grains or food. All because of famine. We see the statement a quart of wheat for a denarius. Now, a denarius at that time represented approximately a day's wage. So just for a moment, can you imagine putting in eight hours at your job at what you're being paid? And that would get you a quart of wheat for a day's work. Full day of labor. Only purchases enough food to survive. This is detailing that there is a massive devastation to the economy. Scarcity. It's going to show the economic inequality, the social imbalance, and how the suffering of ordinary people, while others continue in their excess. Right. Supply chains. Food systems and political order. Here, revelation reveals how quickly these systems can collapse. When we put our trust into wealth, commerce, and the economy, the economic system cannot provide ultimate security that is apart from God. Material prosperity can disappear, not despair, disappear rapidly when God allows judgment upon the earth. The black horse reveals the reality of the instability of human security apart from God. Verses seven through eight. Here we see this pale horse, which is fashion, another word for it. We see that a writer is named Death, and we see how Hades is following behind him. This fourth horse represents massive death, widespread devastation, and the culmination of. The previous judgments. The word in the New American Standard it said ashen. In King James, it would say pale. So that word right there carries the idea of a sickly green, um, the color of decay and the appearance of death. The horse visibly reflects disease, fear, corruption, and mortality. So what does it mean when it says death in Hades? It means physical death. And it means the realm of the dead. Death is physical. Hades is the realm, the realm of the death, or E A L M. Together, both of these are going to reveal that death is spreading all across the earth and souls are entering the realm of the dead. It's interesting. Note that power was given to them. Revelation emphasizes that authority was given. Even during judgment, God remains sovereign. He remains in control, and nothing occurs outside of his authority. What's interesting is it is one-fourth of the earth. That is staggering to think about. One fourth of the earth is affected through war, famine, pestilence, and beast of the earth. This absolutely becomes one of the greatest death tolls in human history. Now, Jesus did warn us about the great tribulation. He warned us in Matthew 24. He described this as a tribulation unlike any in human history. He detailed how the judgments anticipy because humanity continues rejecting God despite increasing warnings. The pale horse reveals the final outcome of rebellion against God. So death spreads wherever sin reigns unchecked. What does the Bible say? The wages of sin ultimately produce death. The wages of sin is death. They ultimately produce death, but this time on a global scale. So before we go further, I want to pull up this image here for you. The four horsemen are revealed. In each of these aspects, we get an understanding of what is happening. The rider in the white horse pictures, it is a picture of Jesus, but it is not Jesus. The red horse represents warfare. And that pale horse brings premature death. Now I've made sure to print out a copy for this for you so you'd be able to have that. So you can look that over in much more detail. But let's move forward. Verses 9 through 11. When the lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, because of the testimony which they had maintained, and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? And then there was given to each of them a white robe, and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed, even as they had been, would be completed also. Those who were slain for the word of God. Specifically, martyrs crying out for judgment. Sorry. I'm used to saying judgment in this. Martyrs crying out for justice. Justice. In the Old Testament, sacrificial blood was poured beneath the altar. This is interesting to note because that image gives us something to understand that these martyrs, their lives were offerings unto God. Their sacrifice was precious before Him. And heaven remembers their faithfulness. How long, O Lord, the martyrs cry out for justice, for vindication, for God to judge evil. And this is not a sinful revenge. This is a cry for righteousness, for God's justice to prevail, and for evil to be answered. Each of these martyrs were given a white robe. By now you should know righteousness, purity, victory, acceptance before God. But then, interesting enough, they're told to wait. God tells them to rest a little while longer. This reveals that God's timing is perfect. But here we know that there's a timing purpose of this. Throughout the book of Revelation, we see that some things are emphasized, such as endurance, faithfulness, and perseverance under persecution. And as a martyr, they definitely reveal their faithfulness to Christ, knowing that it may cost them everything. And God honors those who remain faithful unto death. Heaven never forgets those who suffer in the name of Jesus Christ. The blood of the faithful cries out before God, and divine justice will ultimately come. Revelation twelve six, twelve through seventeen. And there was a great earthquake. While the moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree cast its unripe figs and shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it was rolled up. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come. And who is able to stand? When this sixth seal is open, the earth is going to shake violently. The sun is going to become black. The moon becomes like blood. Stars are going to fall from the heaven. The sky is going to recede like a scroll. Literally, mountains and islands are going to be moved. Creation itself begins responding to divine judgment. Throughout scripture, celestial disturbances often accompany the day of the Lord. When you talk about cosmic signs, there are signs that appear in the book of Joel, the book of Isaiah, the book of Zephaniah, and Jesus in Matthew 24. John describes the fear of humanity. He describes kings, commanders, rich men, slaves, and free men. I want you to hear this again. He describes kings, commanders, rich men, slaves, and free men, all hiding in terror. No social status protects anyone from the holiness of God, or the wrath of the lamb. Which is a very shocking phrase. Lamb normally symbolizes gentleness, sacrifice, mercy. Yet here now the lamb is executing judgment. Hear me clearly on this. The same Jesus who offered salvation will also judge rebellion. Now, it's interesting. The great question at the end of chapter six is who is able to stand? Humanity is realizing that judgment has come and God's wrath is real. No earthly power can save them. Only those who were redeemed through Christ can stand before God's judgment. It's important to recognize and understand the fear of God's presence. Here we know that the wicked do not merely fear destruction, but they also fear the face of him who sits on the throne. It gives us the understanding that humanity's greatest terror is standing before a holy God while remaining in rebellion. Now, I need you to hear me clearly on this. The wrath of God is not uncontrolled anger. The wrath of God is not uncontrolled anger. It is holy justice against persistent rebellion and sin. No person can stand before the judgment of God apart from the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Now, as we end this chapter here, you're going to notice that we only got to six seals. It's because there's going to be a pause in chapter seven, and then chapter eight, we're going to pick up the seventh seal. So don't worry, we'll get there. But in this chapter, we're only detailing these six scrolls and the events that happened throughout there. Again, it reveals this chapter reveals that there's going to be war, famine, death, persecution, and these things are going to increase into unprecedented levels during the Great Tribulation. But we have hope because the truth remains consistent throughout chapter six that the lamb opens every seal. It tells us that judgment is not random, that Satan is not sovereign, and history is not uncontrolled. Jesus is sovereign, authoritative, and in complete control. Revelation six reveals the rejection of God that humanity has, and because of that, it produces deception, violence, scarcity, death, fear, judgment. And we need to understand that even though this is happening, the lamb remains sovereign. And God's plan continues to unfold. Redemption remains available through Jesus Christ alone. The chapter closes with the question who is able to stand? And the answer is clear. Only those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb can stand before the coming judgment of God. Now, again, I do want to remind you that we only got through six seals. You're going to see something shift in um chapter seven as we get eventually to chapter eight. We'll have that seventh seal opening. But I do want to show you another image here. This is another design of a timeline, but it gives you also the understanding of Daniel's 70th week. When we went through the book of Daniel, we mentioned Daniel's 70th week and how this would come back up in the book of Revelation. And so if you look down towards the bottom of this, you'll see uh underneath beginning of sorrows, you'll see three and a half years, you'll see a midpoint, and then another three and a half years. This kind of gives you a chronological time frame of potentially how this could unfold. We get the first three seals for sure in the in the beginning of sorrows, and the fourth one uh in the tail end of the three and a half years, and and there somewhere in the midpoint, where seal five and six goes into uh the latter three and a half years, seven. Um you're going to see right before the seventh seal, the second coming. If this would be the timeline, of course, you may be thinking, what about the trumpets and what about the bowls? All those things would be interjected here in this timeline as well. If this is the timeline. Again, we can't say for 100% sure what the timeline really is. We can only study it from a perception that we're given according to those scriptures and how they um how they are defined in that. So that seventh is you know, the God's wrath, the trumpets, the balls, all these things occurring and so on and so forth. You you get this kind of understanding. It just gives you a different timeline um to understand on that side of it, to have some kind of concept of what is being detailed, what is being defined. I think the simplest thing to do is to go back to the this one here. Um, it it just kind of basically gives you an understanding without mass confusion. The other one can create some confusion and stuff, but again, I've I'm trying to give every aspect of this and trying to uh show you multiple different timelines of how people would would view things and how they would see things. And you know, it's just it's one of those things that can be very challenging, difficult, and to be able to pin it down 100%, 100%. So, with that said, here's what I can tell you without any hesitation. Revelation six officially begins what is known as the tribulation period. So, Revelation 6, we understand that the tribulation has begun. That is what is kicking this off. Whether or not it is a pre-trib rapture, a mid-trib rapture, a post-trib rapture, no rapture, so on and so forth, all those things can be debated, but what we know for 100% sure is the tribulation period is beginning at the beginning of this chapter. How the timeline exactly looks, we can't be 100% definitive. I can show you examples as I did. Different people have different concepts. If you're a pre-trib, you think all these things are going to fall in the first three and a half to the second three and a half a certain way. If you're mid-trib, you look at it in a different way. And if you're post-trib, you're definitely gonna look at it in a different way. And then if you're a full preterist, you think these things have already taken place, and that's a whole other thing that we'll get into later this year. So, with all that said, uh, I do apologize for being away. I'm in the studio, the podcast studio where I record an episode every single Tuesday night. And so it's set up for me to be able to record this. I do apologize for being out. I hope this video helps you a lot. Pastor Sandra is going to come up and answer any questions that you may have uh concerning this chapter. And if um make sure that you keep those notes when I get back, and I will be back for Revelation chapter seven. We'll pick up from there. So again, continue to pray for us while we're in Lima, Peru. Um, I arrive late Wednesday night. We have a full schedule of things that we have to do. We're meeting with government officials in Lima, and then we've got different conferences and different churches that we're ministering at, and so on, and so forth. So continue to pray for us and uh see everything. That we need accomplished during this trip. Guys, I will see you next time. I hope this helped you a lot. And it wasn't too awkward and it wasn't too challenging. I'll see you soon. Love you all. And until Pastor Sanders says, Well, pause. Maybe you're deployed. No, I'm just joking. You got to answer the QA with Pastor Sanders. So it's officially Pastor Sanders again. Love you all.