Search
Scripture Reading: Rev. 4:2-3; 5:1-7; 6:1-17; 8:1-2
In this series of messages we are burdened to see the prophecy of the four “sevens” in the Bible. In the previous chapter we saw the prophecy of the first “seven”—the last week of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27. This is a prophecy concerning the consummation of the age.
We also saw that the Lord Jesus prophesied concerning the consummation of the age in Matthew 24:32-33: “Learn the parable from the fig tree: As soon as its branch has become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near. So also you, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors.” The Lord’s illustration here concerning the fig tree, which signifies the nation of Israel, covers three items: (1) becoming tender signifies the coming back of life; (2) putting forth leaves signifies the outward activities; (3) summer signifies the time of the restoration of the nation of Israel (Acts 1:6). The fig tree, the nation of Israel, passed through a long “winter” from the first century to A.D. 1948, when the nation of Israel was re-formed. That was the fig tree becoming tender, the coming back of life. In 1967 the city of Jerusalem was taken back by Israel (Luke 21:24). I consider this as the putting forth of leaves, the outward activities. Because these two things have taken place, we know that the summer is near, the time of the restoration of the nation of Israel, the age of the restored kingdom (vv. 30-31), which will begin at the Lord’s second coming.
Another item that needs to take place before the Lord comes back is the rebuilding of the temple. In Matthew 24:15 the Lord spoke of “the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place.” This abomination refers to Antichrist’s image set up in the temple of God as an idol (Rev. 13:14-15; 2 Thes. 2:4) at the beginning of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21). This means that the temple must be rebuilt before the great tribulation begins. According to recent news, a number of Jews in Israel are preparing for the rebuilding of the temple and for the priestly service in the temple.
In the previous chapter we saw that according to Daniel 9, Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel at the beginning of the seven years of the last week of the seventy weeks, and in the middle of the week he will break the covenant. The last week will be cut into two halves by his breaking of this seven-year covenant with Israel. The second half of three and a half years will be the time of the great tribulation (15, Matt. 24:21). The overcomers will be raptured before the great tribulation, while the majority of the believers will be raptured at the end of the great tribulation. Since we know all these things, we need to watch and be ready for the Lord’s appearing.
We have already seen the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy regarding Israel in Matthew 24, which the Lord said had to take place before the consummation of the age. In Romans 9:27-28 Paul says, “Isaiah cries concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved; for the Lord will execute His word upon the earth, accomplishing it and cutting it short.’” Paul says that the Lord will cut His word short in order to fulfill His prophecy in a rapid way. I believe that the present problems in the Middle East are part of the cutting short of the Lord’s word. Today we are in a very critical time. When there is news that a strong man signs a treaty of seven years with Israel, what shall we do? We have to prepare ourselves to be raptured. Now we want to go on to see the prophecy of the second “seven”—of the seven seals in the book of Revelation.
Before John, the writer of Revelation, saw the seven seals, he first saw a scene, a view, in the heavens (4:2-3; 5:1-7; 6:1-17; 8:1-2). This scene in heaven was immediately after Christ’s ascension into the heavens (see 5:6, footnote 3, Recovery Version).
In this scene there was a throne, and God was sitting upon the throne (4:2-3).
On the right hand of God, who sat upon the throne, was a scroll sealed with seven seals (5:1). The scroll is a record of the secret of God’s economy concerning the entire universe.
John wept because there was no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth who was able, worthy, to open the scroll and to break its seals (vv. 2-4).
Then he was told not to weep because the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb, had overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals. This One came and took the scroll out of the right hand of God, who sat upon the throne, and He opened one of the seven seals (vv. 5-7; 6:1).
The Lion is a symbol of Christ, portraying Him as a strong fighter against the enemy, as prophesied in Genesis 49:8-9. Christ’s being the Root of David signifies that He is the source of David. When the Lord was living on earth, the Pharisees asked Him questions to test Him. Then the Lord asked them a question to silence them. He asked, “What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?” (Matt. 22:42). When they answered that Christ was David’s son, He replied, “How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet’? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?” (vv. 43-45). This muzzled the mouths of all His opposers. Christ is not only the son of David, the Shoot of David (Jer. 23:5; 33:15), but also the Lord of David, the Root of David. As a descendant of David in His humanity, Christ is the Shoot of David who issued out of David. But as the eternal God in His divinity, Christ is the Root of David, the source of David. Christ is also our redeeming Lamb in this present age. As such an all-inclusive One, He has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals.
The first four seals are four horses with their riders, running in a four-horse race (Rev. 6:1-8). All four riders are not real persons but personified things.
The first seal is a white horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of the gospel (vv. 1-2). Revelation 6:2 says, “I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sits on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.”
A bow with an arrow is for fighting. But here there is a bow without an arrow. This indicates that the arrow has already been shot to destroy the enemy and that Christ’s fighting for the constitution of the gospel of peace is finished and the victory is won.
A crown signifies that the gospel has been crowned with the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). The gospel that we preach today has a crown, and this crown is the glory of Christ. We should not feel shameful when we preach the gospel. Rather, we should feel glorious. To preach the gospel is a glorious thing. Those who preach the gospel become the riders of the white horse.
Went forth conquering in Revelation 6:2 signifies that the gospel has been going forth with Christ to conquer all kinds of opposition and attack. When I left mainland China in 1949, there were less than four million Christians there. When the Communists took over, they did their best to oppose, to restrict, and to persecute anyone who wanted to practice being a Christian. Despite such opposition, today there are at least fifty million Christians in mainland China. This shows the victory that the gospel has gained there over the past forty years. Throughout all the generations the gospel has been going on with Christ as the Victor.
According to the Bible, we have to preach the gospel to get sinners saved. We all have to bear fruit. Although we may admit that this is scriptural, we may not be bearing any fruit. This means that we are not on the white horse. If we are preaching the gospel, our interest is in God’s kingdom. What is our interest today on this earth? We should be those who are laboring to get people saved to build up the Body of Christ for the kingdom of God. Most of us have to work to make a living. But all of us can separate a certain amount of time to the Lord for His interest. The unbelievers can always spare time for their amusement and entertainment. But we believers have God as our amusement and entertainment. We have no excuse for not preaching the gospel. We must be on the white horse for the spreading of the gospel.
The second seal consists of a red horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of war. Revelation 6:3-4 says, “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, another horse, a red one, went forth; and to him who sits on it, to him authority was given to take peace from the earth, and that men should slay one another; and to him a great sword was given.” Red here signifies the shedding of blood. The red horse is a symbol of the raging of war, which is altogether a matter of shedding blood.
A great sword signifies weapons for fighting.
To take peace from the earth signifies that war is continuing on the earth.
That men should slay one another signifies that people will fight one another. The Lord Jesus prophesied the same thing in Matthew 24. He told us that “nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (v. 7). When war is going on, the gospel should be going on. These two horses run together.
The third seal, consisting of a black horse and its rider, signifies the spreading of famine. Revelation 6:5-6 says, “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he who sits on it had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying: A choenix of wheat for a denarius and three choenixes of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” Black here indicating the dearth (Jer. 14:1-4), signifies the color of the visage of famished people (Lam. 4:8-9; 5:9-10). The black horse is a symbol of the spreading of famine, which causes a black visage.
A balance, a scale used to weigh precious things, is used here to weigh food, signifying the scarcity of food (Lev. 26:26; Ezek. 4:16).
A choenix of wheat, good pay for a day’s labor, and three choenixes of barley, also good pay for a day’s labor (Matt. 20:2), signifies the high price of food in its scarcity.
Do not harm the oil and the wine (oil and wine are for man’s pleasure—Psa. 104:15—and are always in short supply and become precious in famine) signifies the presence of famine. War is always followed by famine. During the famine, oil and wine should be preserved and not harmed.
The fourth seal, consisting of a pale horse and its rider, signifies the spreading of death. Revelation 6:7-8 says, “When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and he who sits upon it, his name is Death; and Hades followed with him. And authority was given to them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with death and by the beasts of the earth.”
Pale signifies the color of the appearance of those stricken with the plague.
Hades following death signifies that Hades receives and retains those whom death has killed.
Authority is given to Death and Hades over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword, famine, and death and by the beasts of the earth.
The four riders of the four horses—the gospel, war, famine, and death—are all personified.
The running of the four-horse race began from Christ’s ascension (Mark 16:19-20) and continues through the entire age of the church to Christ’s coming back. Beginning with the first century, the gospel has been spreading throughout these twenty centuries. War among the human race has also been proceeding simultaneously. War has always caused famine, and famine has issued in death. All of these will continue until the end of this age. When the seventy weeks in Daniel are completed, the four-horse race will be over. The gospel, war, famine, and death will cease.
The fifth seal is the cry of the martyred saints (Rev. 6:9-11).
It is the cry to avenge their blood (v. 10).
The fifth seal is the cry of those martyred because of the word of God and because of their testimony (v. 9b), including the martyrs of the Old Testament (Matt. 23:34-36).
These martyrs are underneath the altar. In figure, the altar is in the outer court of the tabernacle and the temple, and the outer court signifies the earth. Hence, underneath the altar signifies underneath the earth (12:40), where Paradise, the comfortable section of Hades (Luke 16:22-23) that keeps the souls of the martyred saints, is (23:43).
These martyred saints cry with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Master, holy and true, will You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10). How long signifies that the martyrs have been waiting in Paradise for quite a long time already.
Revelation 6:11 says, “To each of them was given a white robe; and it was said to them that they should rest yet a little while, until also the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed, even as they were, is completed.” Yet a little while signifies that the martyrs’ cry should take place near the end of the present age.
A white robe signifies that the martyrdom of the martyrs was approved by the Lord, and rest signifies that they are resting in Paradise.
Until also the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed...is completed indicates the martyrdom during the great tribulation (20:4). Many believers will be martyred by Antichrist in those three and a half years.
The sixth seal is the shaking of the earth and heaven (6:12-17).
There will be a great earthquake, the sun will become black, the whole moon will become like blood, the stars will fall to the earth, the heaven will be removed, and every mountain and island will be moved (vv. 12-14).
The kings, the great men, the generals, the rich and the strong, and every slave and free man will hide themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, saying to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (vv. 16-17).
This supernatural calamity is the initiation of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), consisting of all the calamities, plagues, and woes from the sixth seal to the last bowl of the seven bowls (Rev. 16:17-21).
The seventh seal is the entire contents of the seven trumpets (8:1-2). These contents are on both the negative side and the positive side.
The seventh seal, the entire contents of the seven trumpets, includes the supernatural calamities of the first four trumpets (vv. 7-12).
The seventh seal also includes the three woes of the last three trumpets (8:13—9:21; 11:14-15a, 18, 19b).
The seventh seal includes the seven plagues of the seven bowls as a part of the negative contents of the seventh trumpet (15:7—16:12, 17-21).
The negative contents of the seventh seal, the seven trumpets, also includes the destruction of the great Babylon (17:1—19:4) and the destruction of Antichrist and his false prophet in the war of Armageddon (19:11-21; 16:13-16; 11:18c). The great Babylon has a religious aspect and a material aspect. The religious Babylon, the Roman Catholic Church, will be destroyed by Antichrist at the beginning of the great tribulation (14:8; 17:16), whereas the material Babylon, the city of Rome, will be fallen, destroyed by God (16:19), at the end of the great tribulation (18:2).
The seventh seal includes the binding and imprisoning of Satan (20:1-3).
It also includes the last rebellion of mankind and the perdition of the devil, Satan (vv. 7-10).
The seventh seal includes the final judgment at the great white throne (vv. 11-15). This will be an ending of all the evil matters and persons in the universe.
Now we come to the positive side of the contents of the seven trumpets, of the seventh seal.
The kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever (11:15, 17b).
There will also be the rewarding of the Lord’s slaves the prophets, and the saints and those who fear the Lord’s name, the small and the great, at the judgment seat of Christ (v. 18b).
There will be the marriage of the Lamb (19:7-9). This will be the marriage of Christ and His overcomers. The processed Triune God as the Lamb will marry the regenerated and transformed tripartite man.
There will also be the kingdom of a thousand years (20:4-6).
At the end of the seventh seal there will be the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem (21:1—22:5).
The completion of the events in the seventh seal will be the finishing of the mystery of God as the good news announced to God’s own slaves the prophets (10:7). The seven seals and the seven trumpets end with the New Jerusalem.
The book of Revelation can be considered as a scroll. Before the ascension of Christ there was such a scroll, but it was not opened. After His ascension Christ, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, and the Lamb, opened this scroll. The seven seals with which the scroll is sealed are actually the contents of the scroll and the contents of the book of Revelation. This book is just the opening, the unveiling, of the seven seals. Today by the Lord’s mercy we have an open scroll before us.
