Revelation 6:9-11

Revelation 6:9-11

Revelation 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

Revelation 6:10 They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

Revelation 6:11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants^[1] and their brothers^[2] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

When Lord Jesus opening the 5^th seal John saw a group of souls under alter. As bible denoted these souls are belongs to the martyr who died for word of God and their testimonies sake.

The saints are belongs to the Old Testament martyr. Example David, from Jesus is the first example to forgive the sinners and also he thought to His disciples to forgive who persecuting them. We can see many disciples and God’s servants were forgiven the persecutors. Example Stephen,

Reason for Persecution: The Cross separates us from the world

1.      People have not known the Father nor Jesus

If we live according to the world, the world will not touch you. The world will not give and trouble to you. But if you are doing anything against it, then it will be turn against you also. Especially if you are working for the Lord, you think satan will keep quit?

John 15:18-19

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you... If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you... because they do not know Him who sent Me."

 John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

John 16:3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

John 17:14

"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Prophecy about Persecution in Bible

Matthew 24:9

"... you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake... And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved."    

Mark 13:11-13

"Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

Revelation 6:10 They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

Old Testament prayers against the persecutors

Old Testament martyrs were not forgive the persecutors they will complain to God about the persecutors.

Abel the first martyr in old testament

Genesis 4:10 And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

David whenever he faced troubled by his enemies He prayed to God to punish them. We can see many verses regarding this in palms

Prophet Jeremiah’s prayer

Jeremiah 17:18 - Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

Moses prayer

Deuteronomy 30:7 - And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

But what New Testament Responses to Persecution

Matthew 5:43-45

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you..."

If anyone persecuted in the name of Lord those are the blessed.

Matthew 5:10-12

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven...." 

In New Testament how they react when they were persecuted

Acts 5:40-42

^"They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left... rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.  Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."

Stephen

1) Stephen, the first Christian martyr Acts 7:51-60

Acts 7:60

Acts 7:60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

2) James, the first of the 12 Apostles to be a martyr Acts 12:1-2

Acts 12:1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

Acts 12:2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

Paul’s response         

2 Thessalonians 1:3-6

^"... we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer...."

Peter’s Response

John 21:18-19

John 21:18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go."

John 21:19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."

Note: Historical tradition tells us that Peter was executed under the reign of Nero. He was crucified upside down, apparently at his own request because he did not consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same manner that the Lord was.

1 Peter 3:14-15

"But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."  

John’s response

1 John 3:13

"Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you."  

 

Example outside from bible. Recent incident happened in India

Graham Staines and his two sons, Timothy and Phillip, were burned alive in Manoharpur village of Orissa’s Keonjhar district of India early on the morning of Jan 23, 1999. He came to India from Australia in 1965 . his wife Glades announced her forgiveness of those who had murdered her family.

Revelation 6:11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants^[1] and their brothers^[2] should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Here all martyrs was received the white cloth. We know that the white cloth is reward for righteous. As Jesus promised in Rev.3:5, these martyrs are received the white cloth.

Lord told to that souls still in these end of age they are more people going to be die for the word of God and for my name sake. After every thing completed, I will pour out my wrath.

Revelation 6:7,8

Revelation 6:7,8

 Revelation 6:7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"

Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

Pale horse

The color of Death's horse is written as khlōros (χλωρός) in the original Koine Greek, which can mean either green/greenish-yellow or pale/pallid. The color is often translated as "pale", though "ashen", "pale green", and "yellowish green" are other possible interpretations (the Greek word is the root of "chlorophyll" and "chlorine"). Based on uses of the word in ancient Greek medical literature, several scholars suggest that the color reflects the sickly pallor of a corpse. In some modern artistic depictions, the horse is distinctly green.

…its rider's

Unlike the other three, he is not described carrying a weapon or other object,

… name was Death

    It is worthy of note that the Riders of the first three Horses are not named, but it will be very clear when the events they chronicle occur, who and what is meant. Here however the Rider is personified and called "DEATH".

We know the root cast of the death and who was introduced into this world.

Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat^[1] of it you shall surely die."

But satan cheated the human

Genesis 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--

So St.Paul also stating that in

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death

So the root cast of the death was satan. So when the fourth seal opening time the world was direct control of satan.

…and Hades followed him.

This fourth seal is end result of the 1^st three seals.

When 1^st seal was open the white horse was came, God gave an authority to conquer the world that means satan got power over the world.

When  2^nd seal was open God gave authority to the red horse fight against the nations.

When 3^rd seal was open God gave authority to the black horse to bring the famine into this world

Now the 4^th seal was open all the previous seals incidents were coming to end. Whoever suffer all above calamities all people will die.

Whoever die in this time, those people will go to hell directly. All the wrath will be pour out on who received the mark of the beast. We know that, revelation chapter 14:9,10 stating that, those who receive the mark are warned about the lake of fire.

Revelation 14:10 he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

Isaiah stating about the Hell and Hades…

So great will be the destruction of human life in the days of the "Fourth Seal" that HADES will have to enlarge herself and open her mouth without measure, as foretold in Isa. 5:13-16. The means of destruction mentioned--the SWORD, HUNGER, DEATH, and the BEASTS OF THE EARTH,

Isaiah 5:14 Therefore Hades has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem^[1] and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her.

Whoever died, because of God’s wrath, they will not go to the heaven. That’s why the Hell and Hades is following the death angle.

…a fourth of the earth,

The tribulation period will not be mild in any way.  Horror scenes portrayed in the movies cannot begin to describe the events to take place in this period.  For this reason, Jesus warned this is period unlike any in the history of the world and never to be repeated again.  (Matthew 24;21-22, Daniel 12;1, Jer. 30;7)

Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

Even the time of tribulation also God kept a group for Him separately. Who tolerated all the tribulation and withstand for God those people will surly save by God. 

Daniel 12:1 "At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

Ezekiel 14:21 "For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!

Ezekiel 14:22 But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it.

…kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

Sword -  war between nations as Lord Jesus quoted in Mathew:  24:7

Leviticus 26:25a  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant.

Famine – already we saw many references for this Luke 21:11,  Mathew:  24:7 , lev 26:26 etc.,

Isaiah 5:13 Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge;^[1] their honored men go hungry,^[2] and their multitude is parched with thirst.

Leviticus 26:26 When I break your supply[1] of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

Pestilence  - Mathew 24:7

Leviticus 26:26b  …And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

…wild beasts of the earth.

Leviticus 26:22 And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted.

Revelation 6:5,6

Revelation 6:5,6

Revelation 6:5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.

Revelation 6:6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart^[1] of wheat for a denarius,^[2] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"

Third Seal   Following the Red horse, we see a black horse this event follows the chronological order of events taking place on earth.  Following a nuclear war, several events take place, one is nuclear fallout and destruction of foods

           

Black horse :

What does the symbolic language of this verse tell us about the rider on the black horse? We can identify several points:

Genenral meaning for black horse : by the meaning from dictionary is “One who achieves unexpected thing”

Example : One who achieves unexpected support and success as a political candidate, typically during a party's convention.

What Scripture tells about black ?

We moderns tend to consider black to be the opposite of white, so to us, black is the color of evil. Another terms for black color means darkness  

Matthew 22:13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

 Black, blackness, and blacker are found 23 times in the Bible, describing the sky, hair, cloth, marble, skin, night, ravens, cumin, and horses. In each occurrence, blackness appears to be a synonym for "darkness."

1)      What is the meaning John wants to mention Rev 6:5,6 the rides a black horse.

The color black is a symbol of famine (Lamentations 4;8-9). Following the war,  food will be in short supply on the planet and many will die. 

Jesus Christ listed the events will take place at the end of age in Mathew 27:7 and Luke 21:11 one of the point He told was Famines.

Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Other References for Famine in the bible

» Lamentations 5:10: Our skin is hot [literally, black] as an oven, because of the fever of famine.

» Joel 2:6: Before them the people writhe in pain; all faces are drained of color [literally, gather blackness].

» Nahum 2:10: She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; much pain is in every side, and all their faces are drained of color [literally, gather blackness].

 Lamentations 4:8 Now their face is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as wood.

God say better die by bullets instead of dying by famine

Lamentations 4:9 Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.

Lamentations 4:10 The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.

In ancient times, the value or quantity of a thing was determined by weighing it on scales. In fact, people bought and sold items by weight or measure rather than by our currency-based system. For instance, the shekel was not originally a unit of money but of weight according to which the price and quantity of things were determined. As such, scales were common marketplace items, and God demanded they be used justly (Leviticus 19:36; Proverbs 11:1; 16:11; Amos 8:4-10; Matthew 7:2).

And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying

Here John mentioning midst of four living creature, that means this voice probably for our Jesus Christ voice.

1.      The first reason is we know that all seals are opening by Jesus. He reading the scripture what is written inside.

2.      The second reason God gave authority to Jesus to judge the world

John 5:27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

Based on the above to reasons, the voice what John was head is belongs to Jesus.

"A quart^[1] of wheat for a denarius,

Quart = ¼ Kg.

Denarius = money, it was indicated to be a day’s wage by the Lord in Matthew 20:1-16.

When mentioned in terms of foodstuffs, particularly bread, scales become a symbol of scarcity because, normally, bread would be sold by the loaf without much concern for exact weight. However, during a famine when each ounce of flour was valuable, flour would be rationed by weight or measure, and neither buyer nor seller would want to be cheated. Notice God's prophetic warning in Leviticus 26:26: "When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back to you your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied." The prophet Ezekiel also mentions rationing by weight as a judgment from God:

Three quarts barley   This was a lower quality food then wheat.  Barley, was food for animals and the poor.  Here the same denarius will purchase 3 meals of barley versus one meal of wheat. 

Oil and the wine : These were foods of luxury and wealth.  These items are contrasted to the wheat and barley, which require a whole days labor.  The wealthy will not suffer like those who will need food to get by on a daily basis.  

Conclusion

Therefore, what the Lord 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 the Lord’s salvation than are those who prosper (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26; James 2:5).

James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?