Review
The opening chapter of the book of Revelation begins with a vision of a victorious Christ. Chapters 2 and 3, comprising the book’s first scene, are the letters from Jesus Christ to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. On one level, these seven letters are written to historic churches that are each facing unique and individual circumstance. On another level, the seven letters capture the timeless reality of the church as it is in all times and circumstance. In chapters 4 we begin the second scene. Chapters 4 and 5 are a glorious vision of true worship. Creation, symbolized by four fantastic creatures, and God’s people, symbolized by the twenty-four elders1, are all gathered about God’s throne in worship. It is in worship that the scroll of God’s purpose for the world is revealed. Further, it is in worship that it is revealed that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is the only one worthy to take, receive, and unlock the meaning of what God has written (i.e. “determined”) will take place.
Scene 2 of Revelation neatly divides in half. The first half, chapters 4 and 5, describe God’s people, symbolized by the twenty-four elders at worship. The contrast between this vision and the next two chapters could hardly be starker. On the one hand there is the spiritual reality of God’s people in God’s presence, and on the other hand, the historical reality of God’s people suffering in the world. These next chapters focus upon the suffering the church must endure in the world.
Chapter 6
In chapter 5 John saw a vision of a mysterious scroll, written on both sides, whom only the Lamb of God was worthy to take from the hand of God and reveal its meaning. The scroll was sealed with seven seals which now, in chapter six, the Lamb begins to break. Verses 1 – 8 describe the breaking of the first four seals. The breaking of each reveals one of the traditional Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: conquest, war, famine and death. Note that with the breaking of each seal a horseman goes forth. Like the vision of Jacob’s Ladder,2 John sees the interplay between heaven and earth: an action in heaven determines what happens in our world. The horsemen are not sui generis.
At the same time, each horseman is introduced by one of the Four Living Creatures who symbolize the created world. In some mysterious way, these four, conquest, war, famine and death, are part of or arise out of creation itself. The judgment visited upon our world by the Four Horsemen is an immanent judgment; these are things humanity brings upon itself. Later, in chapter 15, we will encounter the theme of transcendent judgment when the bowls of God’s wrath are poured out upon the earth.
Verses 9 – 11 portray the breaking of the fifth seal. John sees the souls of the martyrs under the altar. The people of God live in the world and with the world live at the mercy of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, they face an additional hardship: the ongoing hostility of the world,3 a hostility that can lead to martyrdom. The martyrs John sees are under the altar. The image comes from the ancient sacrificial system. The blood of the animal sacrifice would be poured out at the base of the altar of sacrifice. They are under because their blood too has been poured out in sacrifice. In addition, they are under because, while the altar, in John’s vision, is in heaven, the martyr’s sacrifice unfolds on earth.
The substance of the martyr’s prayers is for the justice of God to be revealed. While the prayer is not selfish–the focus is upon God’s name and authority it is, nonetheless, a prayer for vindication. There is a clear contrast intended in these verses between God’s elect, who dwell in God’s presence (chapters 4 and 5) and those who dwell on earth (6:10). It is one or the other, an either/or, not a both/and.
Verses 12-17 portray the events associated with the breaking of the sixth seal. The sixth seal is a symbol of cosmic trouble. It is the day the world will end. It is the day of Christ’s return. The best way to put our understanding of these verses into their proper context is to read them in the light of Mark 13:24-27; Matthew 24:29-31; and Luke 21:25-27. In the breaking of the sixth seal, John is describing the same event; only he leaves out an explicit affirmation of the Second Coming. John is building drama and momentum. The scenes in Revelation are not to be understood linearly. Rather, they are layered, one on top of another. When we look at the Trumpets of Warning (chapters 8 and 9) and the Bowls of God’s Wrath (Chapter 16) we will see a similar dynamic in which the vision takes us almost to the end, but not quite.
The immanent judgment flowing from the first five seals arises because humanity is sinful and corrupt. We bring death and destruction upon ourselves by our own actions. The sixth seal, describing the end of days, speaks of a transcendent judgment. It is the wrath of God, who sits upon the throne, and…the wrath of the Lamb (6:16) that is now revealed. The Lamb of God has now become the Lion of Judah. The human response is, as always, an attempt to hide.4 Of course it is impossible to hide from him who has seven eyes (5:6). This image tells us that he sees all things perfectly and in their totality.
Chapter 7
In chapter 6 we saw the Lamb of God breaking the seals on the scroll of God’s purpose in history. It is the Lamb who breaks the seals, unleashing the judgments. John is telling us that he, the Lamb, is in control even of the calamities that come. What unfolds on earth is under his authority. John’s vision is both terrible and comforting. It is terrible for he describes the realities of conquest, war, famine and death. These are terrible things indeed. It is comforting, for believers, for it tells us that behind the riders of the apocalypse stands the authority of the Lamb who holds firmly the scroll on which is written the predetermined purposes of God for our world. The events that come upon us, no matter how terrible, flow from what God has written and has now entrusted to his Son. Come what may, he is in control.
After the breaking of the sixth seal and the terrible events it unleashes, chapter 6 ends with a question: Who is able to stand? In other words, when the last day comes and God’s wrath is revealed, who will remain? Who will be able to stand on that day?
John’s question is in earnest. Now, in chapter 7, his purpose is pastoral as he seeks to answer it. He does so by a play on words. Those who will stand on the last day are those who have been sealed. John sees an angel (v. 2) who holds the seal of God. It is a seal that stamps the mark of ownership. Imagine a wax seal on a letter, or a brand on a cow. Catastrophe is held at bay, temporarily, until this angel goes forth to place the stamp of God’s ownership upon those who are his. The contrast is intended to be stark: the Four Horsemen may ride out to destroy, but the church is indestructible for it is made up of those who are sealed, who are owned by God. They are the ones who trust. They are the ones who endure. That they are sealed shows that, despite the hardship they endure, they will one day stand before his throne. The point is to assure us that God’s people are safe in the midst of the trouble of this world.
How many are sealed? The number 144,000 is clearly intended to be symbolic for in v. 9 we are told that the number of those sealed is greater than can be numbered. The precision of the imagery of 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes is intended to suggest to us how precisely God knows his elect. Whatever the number may be, God knows his own, each and every one of them individually.
Note, from v. 14 that there are two criteria that define those who stand before God’s throne. They are those who have gone through tribulation and they are those who have been washed, made pure, by the blood the Lamb of God. These are the two marks of those who are sealed: faith in Christ and perseverance to the end.
Chapter 7 ends with a description of God’s tenderness and care for those who have endured hardship and tribulation here on earth. It ends with the promise that God will one day wipe away every tear (v. 17). Before we move on to chapter 8, spend some time in prayer imagining God speaking these words of comfort to you. What trial and trouble have you faced in your life? How do these verses bring encouragement to you at this time?
This study first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 6, No. 5 (Sep/Oct 2000).
