Bible Commentaries
Revelation 6

Verses 1-17

Chapter 6

Now in chapter six, He begins to open the scroll.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer ( Revelation 6:1-2 ).

And so the first thing that takes place upon the earth once the church has been taken out, the moment this first seal is broken, the antichrist comes forth on a white horse. He is the false Messiah, the false Christ. And he begins to conquer over the earth, bringing the earth under this sphere of his power and control. Because we are told, and again to prove that Satan is still in control of the world, we are told in Revelation thirteen, that Satan will give to Him his throne and his authority. So He is going to turn the earth over to the antichrist, but we see his emergence here, the first thing after the church is gone.

Now according to Paul in second Thessalonians two, talking about the antichrist, he cannot come forth until the church is out of the way. "For that which hinders shall hinder until it is taken out of the way and then shall the son of perdition be revealed." So he can't be revealed until the hindering force is removed, which is the Spirit of God within the church of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth"( Matthew 5:13 ). What is salt? It was a preserving influence. It was a preservative. Jesus is saying the church is preserving the world. They use the salt in the meat in those days to kill the surface bacteria, because they didn't have refrigeration. So the meat was salted to keep it from rotting, from putrefying. So when Jesus said to His disciples, "You are the salt of the earth," they understood that we are an influence to keep the world from getting rotten. But He said, "If the salt has lost its savor than it is good for nothing and will be cast out and trodden under the foot of man"( Matthew 5:13 ). And if you will look at those nations that have fallen to communism, in every one of them the church had died. As far as its influence was concerned, it was dead; the salt had lost its savor.

The church is the only preserving influence in the world today. If it were not for the church, even the United States would be down the tubes already. Now they hate us because we are restraining them from all of the evil that they would love to be doing. We do form and should form a restraining force in the world. If a person said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were here." Rejoice. You have a purifying influence where you work. If they make fun of you saying, "We can't do it because look who is here, holy Joe." Rejoice. That is what God wants you to be, a purifying influence. Keep them from telling those filthy stories. Keep them bragging over their filthy acts. Make them embarrassed for the evil things that they do. You are the salt of the earth. You are to be a preserving influence.

If we cease to be that preserving influence, we will cease to be. If the salt loses its savor, it is good for nothing. The Lord is saying you are only good for one thing and that is preserving the world. The moment the church is removed, that preserving influence is gone and right on the scene comes the antichrist. "That which hinders shall hinder until it is taken out of the way and then shall the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition who goes forth with all deceiving and lying" and so forth.

So right in order, the church is there in heaven having been caught up. The first seal is opened, which is really one of the first orders of business in heaven, and the antichrist comes forth conquering to conquer, bringing the world under his control. Now for the first three and a half years he is going to be hailed as a savior. The world is going to say, "Aha, you see. We told you all the time the problem was those rotten Christians. They kept us from all the prosperity and everything else."

Of course, all the wealth of the Christians will be left here and be divided up by the world and everybody will be having great days as they come in to plunder the goods of the Christians. And the antichrist will offer his new economic programs and his new peace proposals and they will say, "Yes, the church was responsible for all of the wars. Now that we got those warmongers out of here, we can have peace here on the earth." And he is going to come in with peace and prosperity and the big program and they will think that this guy is it. This guy has saved the world. The world was ready to go down the tubes, but this man has saved the world. He will be hailed as the Messiah or the savior. "He goes forth conquering and to conquer", but after three and a half years things change.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second creature say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when the third seal was broken, I heard the third living creature say, Come and see. and I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four cherubim say, 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 6:3-6 ).

So the third horse unleashes the famine which follows the war. Of course, if such a horrible thing should take place, and I think that it possibly will, a nuclear holocaust, I do not believe the church will be here when it happens, but I believe that such a thing is probably in the books for the future. One of the byproducts would of course be the tremendous fallout, which would destroy the crops, as far as they're being edible, and thus what is happening in Ethiopia would be happening around the world. A measure of wheat is about a quart of wheat and a penny is a day's wage for a laboring man. And what are laborers getting today? About forty dollars. So forty dollars for a quart of wheat.

Hey, if you want to be the richest man in the Tribulation, just go buy a bunch of wheat and store it. When this takes place, just take it out of storage and you could be the richest one in the Tribulation. You may even end up the richest man in hell, if that is any consolation.

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the eaRuth ( Revelation 6:7-8 ).

And so in these plagues, one fourth of the earth's population will be wiped out. Now let us assume that when the church is taken out that it leaves maybe four billion people upon the earth, which means in the first four of the horsemen, or the second through the fourth, one-fourth or one billion people will die. That is awfully hard to conceive.

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was told them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled ( Revelation 6:9-11 ).

So here is a group, not the church, who have been martyred during this period of the reign of the antichrist.

Now when the antichrist comes forth to reign upon the earth, he will make war against the saints and prevail against them, the scripture tells us. They could not be the church, because the gates of hell can't prevail against the church. But when the church is raptured, I believe the earth is going to experience one of its greatest revivals in its history. Think of all your friends that you have witnessed to and they have been laughing and making fun of you, but when it actually takes place, these things that you have been sharing with them, it is going to be a sobering day for them and they are going to realize what a fool they had been. And when the antichrist begins to establish his reign, his authority, his power, hopefully they will have enough sense to resist him, which will mean their death, because he has the power to put to death those that do resist. That is those that refuse to take the mark or worship his image, but through their martyrdom at least they will be gaining their salvation.

And here is a great number of souls that are under the altar. And they are crying, "Lord how long until we can come in, before we can take our part in the heavenly scene?" And they are given white robes and told to wait a little while until the rest of them are slain, as you were slain, until the full numbers of martyrs has been complete. And then they will be brought into the heavenly scene, which we do see them in the later portion of chapter seven.

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree cast her untimely figs, when she is shaken with a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places ( Revelation 6:12-14 ).

We read this and are reminded really of the parallel things that will be taking place in the sixth vile that is poured out upon the earth. And it could be that these are parallel judgments that are coming, that they will come in parallel with each other; the great earthquake, the islands being moved out of their places, and tremendous cataclysmic upheavals, as the earth probably will go through again a polar axis shift, which will have as a result each of the things that are described here, with the exception of course of the meteorite shower, and yet that could be what perpetrated the polar axis shift.

They think that the polar axis shift could have possibly been caused by a meteor striking the earth and putting it out of tilt. The force of the meteorite hitting the earth at the right trajectory, and all, could twist the earth around so that suddenly a shift of maybe sixteen hundred miles would put the subtropical climate under the massive polar air, which the air would of stayed stabilized by the earth being hit by a meteorite. And they think the one that hit in Arizona, that meteorite crater out of Windslow, would be sufficient if the meteor hit at the right trajectory to bop the earth in a tilt, which it is at twenty-three and a half degrees, and would create a constant wobble of the earth from then on, which this wobble effect is there.

And that accounts for the mammoths that were encased in solid ice up in Siberia with tropical vegetation in their digestive tracks, but the meat was still edible. Some of the men that were on the expedition that found these mammoths roasted some of the meat and ate it. They gave it to the dogs and they ate it. So these mammoths were frozen instantly. It was a quick freeze. And this could happen by the earth being jarred by a meteorite, thrown to this twenty-three and a half-degree tilt. As it was pushed, it twisted and that could have perpetrated Noah's flood also. The tremendous shift of water, oceans and so forth, with the earth moving and the water masses ripping up everything. And of course the weight of the water coming upon the thinner crust of the earth, the plates, causing it to collapse and the water pushing in and forcing the mountain ranges up and things of this nature. And this polar axis shift could explain it, which would be perpetrated by a meteorite.

Now here we find the meteorite shower, the stars falling from heaven like a fig tree dumps it untimely figs in a strong wind. Here you find a tremendous earthquake. Here you find mountains and islands disappearing. It is a tremendous cataclysmic upheaval.

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And they said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? ( Revelation 6:15-17 ).

Notice, this is called the "Great Day of His Wrath", the wrath of the Lamb. It is comforting to note in First Thessalonians Rev 5:9 that "God has not appointed us unto wrath". Paul also declares that in Romans 5:9 ,"that we have not been appointed unto wrath". The day of His wrath has come, which means we cannot be here, because we have not been appointed unto wrath. But the earth is going to experience this great cataclysmic judgment as the day of God's wrath does come upon the earth.

And so we see these awesome scenes, that I believe, I personally am convinced, will transpire within the next quarter of a century. But when it gets down to this stage, I don't expect to be here. Don't look for me here.

Jesus said when He was talking of these very same things in Luke twenty-one-He's talking of these very same things, the heavens being shaken and the meteorite showers and the cataclysmic things that would transpire along with them, Jesus said, "Pray always that you will be accounted worthy to escape all of these things and be standing before the Son of man."

Expect to see me standing before the Son of man. I expect to be with that crowd in the fifth chapter, singing "worthy is the Lamb to take the scroll and loose the seals for He was slain and He has redeemed us by His blood". And by the grace of God, that is where we shall be. God has not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ.

Father, we thank you for the promises of God that they are to be trusted. And Lord we thank you tonight for Your Word that it is true. And Lord even as you told Daniel similar things to what John is recording here, you said to Daniel, "And these words are true." Lord help us that we will live in all sobriety. That we will not be caught up in the snares of the enemy in these last days, so that the Day of the Lord would catch us unaware, but being children of the light. Lord, help us to walk as such in all holiness, and righteousness, and godliness. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Next week, we'll move on into chapters seven, eight and nine. And so we encourage you to read them over and next Sunday night we will continue our study of this extremely fascinating book, the book of the things of the future, the book of Revelation as we see what will be coming to pass very shortly upon the earth.

May the Lord now be with you and bless you, and you be the salt in this corrupting world around us. And may the Lord use your life as a purifying influence in your class, on your job, in your home, in your neighborhood. And may you walk in fellowship with Him, enriched in the things of the Lord day by day. In Jesus' name. "