In Revelation 5 the Lamb took the scroll from the One on the throne. Revelation 6 now opens its seals one by one. The first five belong to the age of grace; the sixth concerns the last days and comes later, and from there the visions overlap, so the book moves back and forth in time. The spiritual world cannot be seen, so John is shown it in pictures that people can understand.
Four creatures, four periods
The four living creatures stand in the midst of the throne, so they represent the Spirit of God. At Jesus' baptism the Spirit came down like a dove (Mark 1:10), a picture of his gentle life, which had no fighting or ruling. In the same way the lion, calf, man and eagle show four characteristics of the Spirit in the church, and they mark four periods since the cross:
- The lion: the early church in Jerusalem under the twelve apostles, bold and fearing no one, ready to be seized, beaten or killed for God's glory.
- The calf: a few generations later the courage faded. Believers could be led away like a calf, and persecution followed.
- The man: as the word of God grew scarce, the Spirit moved people to search the Scriptures and teach them.
- The eagle: the present, last times. As an eagle sees far, the Spirit makes the prophecies of this book plain, so that we know what is coming.
In each period Satan worked against the Spirit. At each of the first four seals one of the creatures cries "Come and see", and a horseman shows how.
The white and red horses
The white horse's rider has a bow and a crown and goes out to conquer. Unlike the creatures, he is not in the midst of the throne, so he stands not for God's Spirit but for the spirit that opposes it, the antichrist spirit. White shows that he looks good but is a counterfeit; the text mentions a bow but no arrows, a picture of an impostor who deceives. In the lion's days he said, in effect, "We are just like you", then slipped in one small thing that turned the teaching aside. False apostles, false prophets and false teachers appeared, as the letter to the first church (Ephesus) shows.
The red horse's rider is given a great sword and power to take peace from the earth, so that people kill one another. The antichrist spirit now used the power of Rome to persecute God's people: believers were arrested, imprisoned, flogged and killed until about the year 300. The horse is red because blood was shed. These were the calf's days: those who were seized went along readily, and those who were killed became martyrs.
The black horse
The black horse's rider holds a pair of balances, and a voice from the midst of the four creatures says:
A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
— Revelation 6:6
Black means darkness. Wheat and barley are food, and our spiritual food is the word of God. It reached each generation in smaller measure until little remained beyond believing in Jesus Christ, repenting and being baptised. When the emperor became Christian and appointed bishops he favoured, the bishop of Rome was set over all the bishops, and the office of pope arose. The apostles' writings were kept in a library, while ordinary people were given only song books and prayers. This is the Dark Age.
The command means: teach the word however you please, but do not harm the oil and the wine. They do not spoil, so they picture the Spirit of God, and those who have received the Spirit are not to be touched. Then Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Calvin and others began to teach the word again.
The pale horse
The pale horse is a mixture of black and white. Its rider is named Death, and the realm of the dead follows him. He is given power over a fourth part of the earth to kill by sword, hunger, death and the beasts of the earth. In the great tribulation hunger, death and every kind of calamity will spread over the whole earth.
This is the eagle's period. Earlier believers could only react to events; we are told beforehand, so that we can protect ourselves. Those who have the eagle's Spirit are drawn to prophecy and want to study Revelation. Others carry on with their routine, content that they behave well, and do not do the extra thing the rapture requires. Those who understand learn the way of escape: the Lord will come and take us up, and the conditions below will not fall on us. Those left behind must face this horseman.
The fifth seal
At the fifth seal John sees under the altar the souls of those slain for the word of God and for the testimony they held. They cry:
How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
— Revelation 6:10
The Lamb is named elsewhere (Revelation 7:10; 14:4), but not here: these people kept God's word, yet do not acknowledge Christ. They are Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ today but keep the Law and believe in God in their own way, killed in Hitler's time, before and during the Second World War (1939–45). Each is given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until their brothers who are to be killed as they were are complete.
Those brothers are the martyrs of the great tribulation, Christians and Jews together, as the song of Moses and of the Lamb suggests (Revelation 15:3). Some eighty years have passed since 1945, and the "little season" has now lasted nearly a generation. After the tribulation God's wrath is poured out in the seven vials, and their blood is avenged. Then those who waited under the altar, now satisfied, say that his judgements are true and righteous (Revelation 16:7).
Takeaway
The Spirit like an eagle tells us beforehand what is coming, so that we can prepare instead of merely reacting. Those who understand the prophecies will not settle for their old routine, but will make ready to be taken up before the pale horseman rides.