(Revelation) Revelation 6:1-17 — Zac Poonen

Prophecy, Partial Knowledge, and the Priority of Love

We are moving into chapter 6 today, and beginning with chapter 6, we see that which we can call the more prophetic part of this book of Revelation. The things which Jesus told John would take place in the future.

And when we study prophecy, whatever it is, prophecy that's yet unfulfilled, there is a verse of scripture in 1 Corinthians 13 that we must keep in mind. I want to turn to that for a moment. 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 12.

Paul says here, now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully, just as also have been fully known. But now, abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

Pursue love. Chapter 14, verse 1. So, there are many things concerning the future which we don't see very clearly. And I think God, in His great wisdom, has allowed a lot of prophecy concerning the future to be seen by us in a mirror dimly.

In our flesh, there is a great lust to know these things exactly, mostly to satisfy our curiosity. Now, the word of God is never given to satisfy our curiosity. And therefore, we don't want to use the word of God to satisfy people's curiosity.

There is a verse in the Old Testament which we have looked at many times, Deuteronomy 29, verse 29, which says, The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed to us and to our children.

So, there are things which are clearly revealed. We are told, for example, in 2 Peter 1, verse 4, that all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given to us. Concerning the way of salvation, concerning the way we can partake of divine nature and overcome sin, there is no doubt at all.

And those things we don't see through a mirror dimly. We see crystal clearly. But the amazing thing is, among many believers, that those things which are written in a crystal clear way, like Romans 6, 14, sin shall not have dominion over you, they don't take so seriously.

But those things which are as in a mirror dimly, they are very curious to know all the details about. Now, this is very unhealthy, spiritually speaking. We need to have our priorities right. The greatest is not prophecy, the greatest is love.

And we have to pursue, not primarily after understanding of prophecy, but after love. There are other things which we will know clearly when we stand before the Lord face to face. But since the Lord has given us His word, we believe that He expects us to study it and to understand.

Even if it is dimly, something concerning the coming days. So turning back to the book of Revelation, I want to point out another fact that we find in the book of Revelation. In Revelation chapter 1 verse 8, we read that God is called the Almighty.

Revelation 1 .8, I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. And at the end of the book, in chapter 21 and verse 22, He is again called the Lord God, the Almighty.

Now, last time I mentioned how at the beginning and the end of the book of Revelation, there are these two verses on obedience. That is in chapter 1 verse 3 and chapter 22 verse 7. But we also notice here in these two verses I just showed you, that at the beginning and the end of the book of Revelation, God is called Almighty.

And this becomes all the more significant when we discover that in the entire New Testament, God is called Almighty only ten times. And out of those ten times, nine times it is in the book of Revelation.

Isn't that interesting? That out of ten times that God is called Almighty, nine of those times should be in the book of Revelation. And that at the beginning and at the end of the book, He should be called the Almighty God.

Now, the reason for this is pretty clear, that God wants us to be rooted and grounded in the fact that He is Almighty, all-powerful, in control of everything. And this is the fact that we need to be sure of as we approach the book.

I just want to mention in passing, the only other instance in the New Testament where God is called Almighty is a very significant occurrence. It's in 2 Corinthians 6 verse 17 and 18, where there is a call to the people of God, saying, Come out from their midst and be separate.

A similar call to what we find in the book of Revelation, Revelation 18 verse 4, Come out from Babylon, My people. 2 Corinthians 6 verse 17, And if you come out like that, I will welcome you, says the Lord Almighty.

And so, it is to those who want to come out from that which is unclean, that which is contrary to the word of God, that God reveals Himself as the Almighty God. And it is primarily for such people that the book of Revelation is written.

The Scroll of Judgment and the Interpretation of Scripture

Now, we were considering last week in Revelation 5 and verse 1, that in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, that is, this Almighty God, was a scroll. Now, when we read the word book, we know that there were no bound books like this in those days.

What they had was scrolls. There was a long bit of parchment, or some other material like that, and it was rolled up, and it didn't have pages. You had to roll up the left side to read what was coming next, and roll up some more to read what was coming next, and unroll the right side, and that's how the scrolls were, the books of those days.

And this scroll, which we saw, concerned the redemption of the human race and the redemption of the earth. We can also look at another verse in Ezekiel chapter 2, verse 9 and 10, that tells us something more about this scroll, before we look at chapter 6 of Revelation.

Ezekiel 2, verse 9 and 10, we read here that Ezekiel also had a similar vision, and I looked, and a hand was extended to me, and, lo, a scroll was in it. And when the Lord spread out the scroll before me, it was written on the front and back, that's just like we saw in Revelation, written on the outside and inside, and written on it were lamentations, mourning, and woe.

That's what was written. Written on that scroll were various types of judgments. Another verse, the book of Zechariah chapter 5. It's good for us to look at these references, because Scripture interprets Scripture for us.

Otherwise we get into all types of fanciful interpretations, which may not be true. Zechariah chapter 5, Zechariah also had a similar vision of a scroll. And then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.

And he said to me, What do you see? And I answered, I see a flying scroll. Its length is 20 cubits, that's 30 feet. Its width is 10 cubits, that's 15 feet. And then he said to me, This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole earth.

And then, two commandments which men have disobeyed are mentioned in the rest of that verse. One is the commandment not to steal, and the other is the commandment not to take the Lord's name in vain. Everyone who steals will be purged according to the writing on one side of the scroll, and everyone who swears will be purged according to the writing on the other side of the scroll.

There were two sides to the scroll, and we can say that these were judgments that came because man disobeyed basically God's ten commandments. And the two sides of the scroll, we can say that when Moses came down from the mountain, he had two tablets of stone.

On one were written four commandments that related to God, and on the other were written six commandments that related to man's relationship with his neighbor. And here we read, stealing is related to man's relationship with his neighbor.

Swearing, taking the Lord's name in vain, is related to man's relationship with God. So we could consider that the two sides of the scroll represent the four commandments and the six commandments that have been disobeyed, and the judgment that has to come upon humanity because of its disobedience of God's ten commandments.

And therefore, this judgment will go forth into the house of the thief, verse 4, and the house of the one who swears falsely. So turning back to Revelation 5, we begin to understand a little bit about the scroll.

Revelation 5 -1, I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. So as the seven seals are opened up, we can expect to see something of what is going to come upon the human race, something that's going to come upon the earth because of its disobedience of God's commandments.

And this question that we considered, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seal? We saw it in relation to the redemption of the earth last week. We also want to consider it today in relation to who is worthy to execute judgment on the earth for disobedience to the ten commandments.

That is something like the question that Jesus asked the Pharisees in John chapter 8 when they caught the woman in adultery and brought her before Jesus. And Jesus said similar words, who is worthy to throw a stone at her?

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Who is worthy to judge the world? No one but Jesus. Like the woman caught in adultery, only Jesus was there. He could throw a stone, but he didn't. He said, neither do I condemn you.

And now is the age of grace when he calls people to himself in grace. But two thousand years have gone by, the call of grace has gone forth throughout the world. And a time will come when the call will be over and Jesus will begin to judge.

And that is perfectly righteous of the Lord to do that. Now I want to show you another verse concerning the opening of the seals of the book. Let me turn you to Isaiah 29 and verse 10 to 13. Now this concerns the unsealing of a book.

We can say that the unsealing of a book is something like giving us understanding on what is inside the book. That's another picture that comes through in the opening of a seal. A sealed book means something that I cannot understand.

A book that is unsealed means something I can see. Now Isaiah 29 verse 10, it says, the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, the prophets, and he has covered your heads, the seers.

And the entire vision shall be to you like the words of a sealed book. Which when they give it to the one who is literate, or like a sealed scroll. And they say, please read this, because I cannot understand this, for it is sealed.

So the meaning of being sealed is here, that I cannot understand it. Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, please read this. And he will say, I cannot read. And why is that?

Because the Lord said in verse 13, this people draw near with their words and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Now if I approach the book of Revelation with, in this attitude, that I draw near with my lips, that my hearts are far from him, then the book will be a sealed book to me.

But that's why the Lord poured a deep sleep upon these prophets, and covered the eyes of these seers, so that the book was sealed. Whereas the book of Revelation is not meant to be sealed. Revelation 22, and verse 10.

And the Lord's, we read here, I think it was the angel here, and the angel said to John, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Now I just showed you those verses, just to point out this fact, that when we come to the book of Bible, the book of Revelation, it is not a sealed book.

That's clearly written at the end of the book. And therefore, if my eyes are blinded to it, probably the reason is what we looked at in Isaiah 29. That my heart is far from the Lord, I draw near to him with my lips.

God has given the book of Revelation so that the eyes may be opened of his bondservants. Now let's turn to chapter 6. Now in chapter 6, we can say that we have a bird's eye view of the entire future, up to the coming of Jesus Christ.

It is sort of like an introduction, that gives a preview of the whole period, and then goes down to the details in chapter 7 onwards. And the proof of that is found in verse 16 and 17 of chapter 6, where we read that the great people of the world say to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us and hide us in 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.

That speaks of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the day of the Lord. And in these six seals described in chapter 6, we have a preview of what was going to come. Now John the Apostle was given this revelation around 96 AD.

That was nearly 1900 years ago. And the Lord told him, I will show you what is going to take place in the future. And so, we can see here, in a sense, what has taken place in 1900 years, but what is going to specifically take place in its intensity, right towards the end time in which we are living.

And that's why the book of Revelation has particular relevance to the time in which we live. Now I want to mention one other thing, that as we go into the book of Revelation, we will discover that not everything is placed in chronological order.

That means, it's not that everything written in chapter 7 comes before chapter 8, and then chapter 9 follows after that, and chapter 10 follows after that. It's not like that. It gives us a glimpse of the future, and then comes back in and fills up certain details, and then we get another glimpse, and comes back and fills up certain details of something that happens earlier.

Now, I praise God that it's written like that, so that it doesn't satisfy my curiosity, because it's not easy for me to make a chart. Now, in my flesh there's a great lust to make a chart, so that I can know this happens first, this happens next, this happens next.

And God purposely doesn't satisfy that curiosity, which is a good thing. Because the word of God, and particularly the book of Revelation, has not been given to me primarily for that. Notice what Jesus said to the apostles in Acts 1, verses 6 -8.

This is a very interesting passage. Just before Jesus went up to heaven, these were the last words that he spoke on earth before he went up to glory. And it's very important for us to know these words.

Now, I think most of us are familiar with Acts 1 -8. That's a very well-known verse. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses. But not so many people are familiar with verses 6 and 7.

Because just before Jesus went up to heaven, the apostles came around him and said, Lord, is it at this time that you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? They thought, now Jesus is risen, he's going to restore the kingdom to Israel and drive out the Romans and establish the Millennium, the rule of Jesus on earth.

And Jesus didn't say, no, there's no such thing. He didn't say that. There is such a thing that's going to come in the future. But, he said, here is a very interesting word that he spoke, which is as important for us to know as verse 7.

He said to them, it is not for you to know the times or the epochs which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But, notice the but in verse 8. Here is something you need not know, and here is something you must have.

Not knowledge, but power, verse 8. Not knowledge, verse 7, but power. Not knowledge of the details of when this is going to happen and when that is going to happen, the time for this and the epoch for that.

But, you must have the power of the Holy Spirit so that you can be my witnesses until the end time. Now, that's important for us to keep in mind as we approach the book of Revelation. Right now, we are ready to look at Revelation 6 and verse 1.

The First Seal: Counterfeit Christs and Deception

And I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come. Now, this happens four times. In verse 3, we read the second living creature says, Come.

In verse 5, we read the third living creature says, Come. And in verse 7, we read the fourth living creature says, Come. Now, these are the four living creatures that we considered in chapter 4, verse 7.

And we saw that they were like the cherubim whom Ezekiel saw. But, we noticed in verse 7 of chapter 4 that these four among those whom God has created, animals and man, the lion, the king of the beasts, the calf, the king of cattle, man, the king of creation, and the eagle, the king of birds.

So, in a sense, we could say that these four creatures who are saying, Come, in chapter 6, verse 1, 3, 5, and 7, are expressing the voice of creation saying to Jesus, Come. At the end of the Bible, we read that John himself says, Amen, Come, Lord Jesus, Revelation 22, and verse 20.

But, all of creation is also crying out to the Lord to come. And that we read in Romans chapter 8, and verse 19, Romans 8, verse 19 to 22. Here we read, For the anxious longing of creation, we can say, is for the coming of Jesus Christ.

And it's an absolute shame when those who call themselves believers do not have an anxious longing for the coming of Jesus Christ. The anxious longing of creation, you know what creation is? The lions, the eagles, the calves, the birds.

Creation is longing for the revealing of the sons of God. That is when Jesus comes in glory. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it. And then, verse 21, the creation also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And the pains of childbirth are used in the New Testament to picture that which is a travail that's going on that will be completed only with the coming of Jesus Christ.

There are many passages in scripture that deal with that. We don't have time to look for it now. And when these creatures say come, the Lord Jesus is going to come. But he's going to come this time, not as the lamb to take away the sin of the world, but as the judge to judge.

And we see here in Revelation 6 and verse 2,. And 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. Now we must compare scripture with scripture.

Keep a finger there and turn to Revelation 19 and verse 11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war.

And his eyes are as a flame of fire, and upon his head many crowns. Verse 16,. And on his robe and on his tie he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. His name, verse 13, is called the Word of God.

That is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. But what we see in Revelation 6, verse 2, is slightly different. He doesn't have many crowns on his head. In Revelation 6, verse 2, it says that a crown was given to him.

In other words, it was not something that he obtained by his own right. He was allowed to have a crown, we can say. But he was on this white horse, and he had a bow, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

We see that this is a picture of someone who is imitating Christ. Someone who is claiming to be like Christ. Now, turn to Matthew, chapter 24. We'll find there's a lot of similarity between Revelation 6 and Matthew 24.

Because both passages are dealing with the end of the age. Matthew 6, Matthew 24, and Revelation 6. Matthew 24, we read in verse 3, The disciples came to Jesus privately and asked him, saying, Tell us, when will these things be?

What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them, See to it that no one misleads you. Here is the first white horse. Many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will mislead many.

That's the first sign Jesus gave. And that's exactly what we see in Revelation 6, verse 2. Someone who comes on a white horse, drawing away people after him. People who are deceived, people who don't know the scriptures.

People who follow someone, thinking that they are following the Lord. And who are deceived, and let us pray. And Jesus said, many will come in my name. And therefore, we have to be particularly careful.

Notice there, they will come in my name. That is the significance of this white horse. A counterfeit Christ. And notice, it says here, a number of times in chapter 6 of Revelation, we find this phrase, it was given.

Verse 2, a crown was given to him. And the next horse, verse 4, it says it was given to that person to take peace from the earth. The last part of verse 4, a great sword was given to him. And verse 8, it says, it was in the middle, authority was given to them.

Now all these places, we find that something evil comes forth. But they were permitted, we can say. They were permitted to do that. They were permitted to take peace from the earth, verse 4. A great sword, he was permitted to have a great sword, so that men slay one another.

Verse 8, that horse rider was permitted to have authority over the earth to kill. In the same way, verse 2, he was permitted to have a crown. You remember the word of Jesus to Pilate in John 19, verse 11.

When Pilate said, don't you know I've got power to crucify you? And Jesus said, you can have no power over me unless it were given to you. It's the same phrase here. It was given to him. Just like it was given to Pilate, the father allowed him to have authority over Jesus.

We'll find that the father allows people to come and deceive. Now this will finally end up in the Antichrist. The Antichrist is the counterfeit Christ. And we can say, ultimately, this white horse rider is clearly a symbol of the Antichrist.

Of the one who will draw people after him. And people will think that this is our Messiah. This is our Savior. Only if we follow him, we can be saved. But before the Antichrist comes on the face of the earth, many little Antichrists have arisen through the centuries.

And are arising even today. Turn to 1 John, chapter 2. 1 John, chapter 2, verse 18. Children, it is the last hour. It was the last hour in 96 A .D. That means it was 11 P .M. in 96 A .D. So you can imagine where we are now.

We are around 1159 now. It's just a few seconds left. It is the last hour. And just as you heard that the Antichrist is coming. Even now, many Antichrists have arisen. From this we know that it is the last hour.

Hitler, for example, was an Antichrist. Who had such a tremendous following of people. It was demonic, the power he had to draw people after him. We find many heathen godmen in India. Who are sort of mini-Antichrists.

And that spirit is unfortunately even found in the so-called Christian church. Where some great leader gets people to follow him. And following him becomes more important than following Jesus Christ.

So that is the symbol here of this counterfeit Christ. Deception on a white horse. Just like Jesus comes on a white horse. Similarity, the devil coming as an angel of light. Deceiving people. And God permits it.

And we read here, he went out conquering and to conquer. Because the devil is bent on conquest. On conquering man thoroughly. Then the next horse. Verses 3 and 4. And when he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come.

The Second Seal: War and the Loss of Peace

And another, a red horse went out. And to him who sat on it was granted to take peace from the earth. And that men should slay one another and a great sword was again given to him. Permission was granted to him.

To get people to slay one another. And to take peace from the earth. This is a picture of war. Turn to Matthew 24 again. Pilate said, don't you know I've got power to crucify you? And Jesus said, you can have no power over me unless it were given to you.

It's the same phrase here. It was given to him. Matthew 24. We saw that the first sign Jesus said was, verse 5. Many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ. What is the second horse? Verse 6. And you will hear of wars.

And rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened. For those things must take place. But that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation. And kingdom against kingdom. So we see it's exactly like Jesus said.

The second rider is a red horse. And he took peace from the earth. And a great sword was given to him. So that with that sword men could slay one another. Now this is going to be particularly true in the last days.

We know that in these 2 ,000 years there have been many wars. All these 1 ,900 years since John wrote this book of Revelation. But in all these 1 ,900 years there's never been any two wars which have been called world wars.

As we have had in the 20th century. That's significant. That here we come across world wars. And wars have increased tremendously in this century. Which is another indication that we are near the coming of Christ.

Now, as I said, just like the Antichrist is going to come and many little Antichrists have arisen. The final time of war is going to be upon the face of the earth. But as we approach that summit it's going to increase in intensity.

And that's why we've already had two world wars in this century. And it's significant also that the horse is called a red horse. I think it is not without significance that communist countries are called red countries.

And they are going to play a big part in the wars towards the end. As we read particularly in Ezekiel 38 and 39. I just want to show you that passage briefly. Ezekiel 38 and 39. We read about a great war that is going to take place over the nation of Israel.

And the people who are going to attack Israel are called here in Ezekiel 38 verse 2. Son of man set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog. Now these are descendants of Noah whom you can read of in Genesis chapter 10.

And verse 2 onwards. And history tells us that these people and their descendants spread over what is today the land of Russia. Then we read this word the Prince of Rush. From which we have got the word Russia.

Mishek from which we got the word Moscow. And Tubal from which we get the word Tobolsk the capital of Siberia. And from there it says that they will come and attack the nation of Israel. We don't have time to go into all that now.

We'll do that in another study perhaps. But it's significant that the horse is red. That it's going to take peace from the earth. And that's going to make men slay one another. And perhaps there's never been in the history of the world.

Not even in Hitler's time. As much of killing of people as there has been in communist countries. All carefully hidden from the newspapers and everyone else. As in the 20th century. There was no communism before this century.

We're approaching the end you see. Things are working out to the completion of God's purpose. Now Revelation 6 verses 5 and 6. Here we read of the third seal and the third living creature. And the third one is a black horse.

The Third Seal: Famine and Economic Inequality

And he signifies food scarcity. That's going to increase in the last days. He who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying.

A quart of wheat. That means about a kilo of wheat. For a denarius. A denarius was one day's pay. You can work that out. One kilo of wheat for one day's salary. If you want cheaper food. Three kilos of barley for one day's salary.

But do not harm the luxuries like oil and wine. It's going to be an amazing system. Where the rich can enjoy their luxuries. And the poor are going to get poorer. And going to find it more and more difficult.

Towards the end. Yeah that's also something that's happened throughout the ages. But particularly in the last days. James chapter 5 says this. James chapter 5 verse 1. Come now you rich weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

Verse 3 your gold and your silver are rusted. Their rust will be a witness against you. Will consume your flesh like a fire. It is for the last days that you have stored up your treasure. Verse 5 you have lived luxuriously on the earth.

And led a life of wanton pleasure. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. Now this is predicted that in the last days. As we approach the end. There will be increasing shortage of the necessities of life.

Turn again to Matthew 24. We considered false Christ. Wars. What is the third thing Jesus said. Verse 7 the last part. There will be famine. That's again. Exactly corresponding to what we see in Matthew 6.

Revelation 6. Verses 5 and 6. Difficulty to obtain the necessities of life. Verse 7 and 8 of Revelation 6. Now we come to the fourth seal. The fourth seal. When. The lamb broke it. I heard the voice of the four living creatures saying come.