Authored by Jerry Marshall
Seal | Ref. | Description | Possible meanings |
Rider on the white horse | 6: 1-2 | A rider on a white horse has a bow and a crown and rides out as a conqueror bent on conquest. | Some believe that this rider symbolizes the spread of the Good News or that the rider is Christ himself. Others suggest that this symbolizes mankind's lust for conquest. |
Rider on the red horse | 6: 3-4 | A rider on a red horse has a great sword and is permitted to take peace from the earth so that people will kill one another. | This rider symbolizes coming warfare, even civil warfare, with great bloodshed. |
Rider on the black horse | 6: 5-6 | A rider on a black horse has a pair of scales and brings famine and pestilence on the earth | The rider symbolizes famine and pestilence. |
Rider on the pale horse | 6: 7-8 | A rider on a pale horse is called Death and has the Grave with him. | This rider is called Death, and Hades (the grave) is his inseparable companion. Together they are given power to kill a fourth of the earth’s population. |
Souls of the martyrs under the altar | 6:9-11 | The souls of the martyrs who were killed for being faithful in their witness are under the altar crying out for vengeance for their blood. | The breaking of this seal announces God’s plan to judge those who persecuted believers. |
Great earthquake | 6: 12-17 | People on the earth face calamities: a huge earthquake and strange occurrences in the sky. | The wrath and power of the Lamb are seen in the cataclysmic earthquake and the supernatural events in the sky. |
Silence in heaven | 8:1 | When the last seal is opened, there is complete silence in heaven. | The seventh seal either begins the next cycle of judgments, or it signals the end and Christ’s return. |
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