Revelation 6

And then it happened. The ascended Lord, who was worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals, opened one of those seals.

According to God's plan, there was great power in that action. Prior to that moment, Jesus had to be born, live without any sin, achieve victory on the cross, rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven. Now as the Ruler over all, He sets in motion the next chapter in the eternal purpose of God.

As these seals are opened, and we have six opened in this one chapter, we explore with John the contours of the New Testament era. What is it that characterizes this age of Pentecost, when God is gathering His people? We know that one day the trumpet shall sound, and the Lord will come with all the heavenly host and will tabernacle with us forever. But what will it be like until He comes?

The opening of the first seal tells us that during this age a powerful messenger will somehow go out from heaven on his war horse and he will conquer. The rider on this white horse will have a bow and a crown. Our King has been given authority over all the earth, and He is coming forth in battle. Regardless of everything else that we see and experience in other New Testament books, in this vision, and in our lives, Jesus is King, and He will win.

But how will He win, and what will it be like to live in the war zone? Will it all be over in a moment? Apparently not, since the second rider, the one on the red horse, seems to bring the ravages of warfare upon the earth. The King of Peace was victorious through His death, yet we are wrong if we think that this victory means that during the age of the New Testament the lion will already lie down with the lamb. No, there will be much war, and this is presented to us as something that has come forth from throne of God in heaven.

When armies are slaying each other, more than soldiers end up feeling the pain. The third rider is on a black horse, and he announces economic distress. This will not be a time when we should immediately expect to see the prosperity of heaven everywhere on the earth. There will be many people who will not have enough to eat. If a quart of wheat costs a day's wages, how will you feed your family? What will it be like for the destitute who have no work and no source of income? How safe will the rich feel if the poor are without adequate food? The direction that comes forth from heaven indicates specific facts that we should consider representative of the millions of details contained in the decrees of God causing there to be loss of grain in one place and time and oil and wine yet available there or in some other place.

We have war, economic distress, and famine in this age. The next steed from above is a pale horse. On that animal is one rider and then a second close behind: death and then the grave. Christ has risen from the dead, yet there will still be much death before the plan of God has been completed. The sword, famine, disease, and even wild beasts will each do their sad damage. And there will be mourning throughout the earth.

Suddenly with the opening of the fifth seal we move above the earth. Yes, the world will be a place of some distress, but what will be happening in heaven to those who have finished their days below? We don't know everything about everyone, but we are told that those who are slain for the Word of God and for their witness of faith are close to the very center of heaven, and they are concerned about events on earth. They speak to God as the Sovereign Lord, and He answers them. They know that there is nothing lacking in Him; He is holy and true. They are eager to see justice accomplished. They were unjustly killed by the Lord's enemies, and they know that He will avenge their blood.

He grants to each of them a white robe, but we are not told what that robe is. Is it a reminder of the their righteousness of Christ, or is it an indication of their own physical reality above? We observe that these martyrs can be seen in heaven. They also speak and are heard. They are resting there from their difficult labors on earth that cost them their mortal lives. Now they must wait until the fulness of the Lord's plans for this age are accomplished, including others joining them who will also make a great sacrifice for the Word of God and for the testimony of faith that they have lived out.

The chapter closes with our victorious Christ opening the sixth seal. This seems to bring us to the tumultuous events connected in the Old Testament with the final Day of the Lord; cataclysmic signs in the heavens, and a great shaking of the earth. The mightiest leaders will be entirely unsettled to the very core of their souls by what God will do. They will know that these events are not the result of impersonal forces or chance. In John's vision they make mention of the “face of Him who is seated on the throne,” and “the wrath of the Lamb.” They would like to be hidden from God, but the day of His wrath has come.

In between the ascension of Christ and the day of the Lord's vengeance, Christ is working out His mighty purposes on earth with a spiritual warfare that we could easily misunderstand to be a failure. There is much strife between nations, hunger, trouble, and persecution. The Word of God is being proclaimed, and Christians are living out a testimony of faith in an environment that is not entirely hospitable. Some are even dying for the King who died for them. But through it all, heaven is being built up with a mighty host of those who have finished their days below, and the Lord Jesus Christ is reigning.

Don't give up. The Lord is surely winning.