A Reading of Revelation, Chapter 6, Verses 1-17 [English Standard Version]

6:1Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to Him, and He came out conquering, and to conquer.

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart¹ of wheat for a denarius², and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants³ and their brothers⁴ should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave⁵ and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

[Footnotes:
¹ 6:6 Greek choinix, a dry measure equal to about a quart
² 6:6 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
³ 6:11 Greek fellow bondservants
⁴ 6:11 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God's family, the church
⁵6:15 Or servant; Greek bondservant]

First Seal – Rider on the White Horse (verses 1-2)

1Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to Him, and He came out conquering, and to conquer.

John is watching as the Lamb opens the first seal on the scroll. One of those living creatures—you remember that we had been introduced to the four living creatures back in Chapter 4. One of those creatures had something to say. Now, there is no specific order here in which these ones are identified, and it makes no difference, anyway. I did some reading on this. There are some scholars who speculate as to which one of the four creatures might be making each of these statements. But, in my judgment, it really makes no difference. It doesn’t alter or change what is being done here.