white , red, black, pale
5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
5:2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
5:3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
5:7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four [and] twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
Chapter 6
6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
6:2 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.
6:3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
6:4 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.
6:5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 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.
6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts 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.
6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
6:8 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 sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
6:9 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:
6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto 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.
6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
i can also give you the interpretation for this.
vicky kamal maurya
servant of God.
2006-08-09 12:34:40
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answer #3
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answered by vicky India,Punjab 3
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The White Horse and Its Illustrious Rider
3 John is privileged to see a fast-moving drama! John says: “And I saw, and, look! a white horse; and the one seated upon it had a bow; and a crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to complete his conquest.” (Revelation 6:2) Yes, in answer to that thunderous “Come!” a white horse charges forth. In the Bible, the horse often symbolizes warfare. (Psalm 20:7; Proverbs 21:31; Isaiah 31:1) This horse, likely a beautiful stallion, gleams with a whiteness that indicates unblemished holiness. (Compare Revelation 1:14; 4:4; 7:9; 20:11.) How appropriate this is, for it portrays warfare that is clean and righteous in Jehovah’s holy eyes.
Who is the Rider of this horse? He has a bow, an offensive weapon of war, but he is also given a crown. The only righteous ones seen wearing crowns during the Lord’s day are Jesus. (Daniel 7:13, 14, 27; Luke 1:31-33; Revelation 4:4, 10; 14:14) It is Hence, this lone horseman must be Jesus Christ and no other. John sees him in heaven at the historic moment in 1914 when Jehovah declares, “I, even I, have installed my king,” and tells him that this is for the purpose “that I may give nations as your inheritance.” (Psalm 2:6-8) Thus, in opening the first seal Jesus reveals how he himself, as the newly crowned King, sallies forth to war at God’s appointed time.
5 This scene harmonizes beautifully with Psalm 45:4-7, addressed to the King enthroned by Jehovah: “And in your splendor go on to success; ride in the cause of truth and humility and righteousness, and your right hand will instruct you in fear-inspiring things. Your arrows are sharp—under you peoples keep falling—in the heart of the enemies of the king. God is your throne to time indefinite, even forever; the scepter of your kingship is a scepter of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and you hate wickedness. That is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your partners.” Being familiar with that prophetic description, John would appreciate that it applies to Jesus’ activity as King.—Compare Hebrews 1:1, 2, 8, 9.
6 Why, though, must the newly crowned King ride forth to war? It is because his kingship is established in the face of bitter opposition from Jehovah’s chief adversary, Satan the Devil, and those on earth who—knowingly or unknowingly—serve Satan’s ends. The birth of the Kingdom itself calls for a major war in heaven. Fighting under the name Michael (meaning “Who Is Like God?”), Jesus overcomes Satan and his demons and hurls them down to the earth. (Revelation 12:7-12) Jesus’ ride of conquest continues through the opening decades of the Lord’s day while the nations and peoples of earth are being judged and sheeplike humans are being gathered to the King’s side for salvation. —1Â John 5:19; Matthew 25:31-33.
How does Jesus “complete his conquest”? This he does, as we shall see, by disposing of false religion and then hurling every remaining segment of Satan’s visible organization into a symbolic “fiery lake” of destruction, in vindication of Jehovah’s sovereignty. Confidently, we now look forward to that day at Armageddon when our “King of kings” will gain the final victory over Satan’s oppressive political organization. (Revelation 16:16; 17:14; 19:2, 14-21; Ezekiel 25:17) In the meantime, the invincible Conqueror on the white horse continues to ride forth as Jehovah keeps adding honesthearted ones to His righteous nation on earth. (Isaiah 26:2; 60:22)
Behold, the Fiery-Colored Horse!
12 Toward the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth, his disciples asked him privately: “What will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” In reply, he foretold calamities that would be “a beginning of pangs of distress.” Said Jesus: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs.” (Matthew 24:3, 7, 8; Luke 21:10, 11) The things John sees when the remaining seals of the scroll are opened provide a remarkable parallel to that prophecy.
In this way: “And another came forth, a fiery-colored horse; and to the one seated upon it there was granted to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another; and a great sword was given him.” (Revelation 6:4) A grim vision indeed! And there is no doubt as to what it pictures: war. Not the righteous, victorious warfare of Jehovah’s conquering King but cruel, man-made, international warfare with needless bloodshed and pain. How appropriate that this rider is mounted on a fire-red horse!
15 Certainly, John would want no part with this horseman and his headlong ride, for it had been prophesied concerning God’s people: “Neither will they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)
16 There had been many wars before 1914, the year when the Rider of the white horse received his crown. But now the rider of the red horse is given “a great sword.” What does this imply? With the eruption of World War I, human warfare becomes more sanguinary, more destructive than ever before. During the 1914-18 bloodbath, tanks, poison gas, airplanes, submarines, huge cannons, and automatic weapons were used either for the first time or on an unprecedented scale. In some 28 nations, whole populations, not just professional soldiers, were pressed into the war effort. Casualties were horrendous. More than nine million soldiers were slaughtered, and civilian casualties were astronomical. Even with the end of the war, there was no return to real peace on earth. More than 50 years after that war, German statesman Konrad Adenauer commented: “Security and quiet have disappeared from the lives of men since 1914.” It was, indeed, granted to the rider of the fiery-colored horse to take peace away from the earth!
Then, with his thirst for blood whetted, the rider of the red horse plunged into World War II. Instruments of slaughter became ever more fiendish, and casualties skyrocketed to four times those of World War I. In 1945 two atom bombs burst over Japan, each one annihilating—in a flash—tens of thousands of victims. During the second world war, the rider of the red horse reaped a huge harvest of some 55 million lives, and even then he was not satisfied. It is reliably reported that at least 30 million souls have fallen under the “great sword” since World War II.
18 Could we call this a triumph for military technology? It is, rather, a testimony that the merciless red horse is at the gallop. And where will that gallop end? Some scientists forecast mathematically that an accidental nuclear war is virtually certain to take place within the next 25 years—let alone a planned nuclear conflagration. But happily the conquering Rider of the white horse has other thoughts about this.
We can be confident that Christ the King will ride, both to complete his conquest over the world controlled by Satan and to establish a new earthly society based on love—love of God and neighbor—a force for peace far, far superior to the shaky nuclear deterrents of our maddened times.—Psalm 37:9-11; Mark 12:29-31; Revelation 21:1-5.
A Black Horse Plunges Forth
And I saw, and, look! a black horse; and the one seated upon it had a pair of scales in his hand.” (Revelation 6:5b) Stark famine. That is the dire message of this prophetic scene. It points forward to situations early in the Lord’s day when food must be rationed out by scales. Since 1914 famine has been a continuing worldwide problem. Modern warfare brings famine in its wake, for resources normally used in feeding the hungry are often diverted to supplying war weapons. Farm workers are conscripted, and battle-scarred fields and scorched-earth policies curtail food production. How true this was during the first world war, when millions suffered from hunger and died! Moreover, the rider of the black horse of hunger did not relent with the end of the war. During the 1930’s, five million perished in just one famine in the Ukraine. The second world war brought in its wake more food shortages and famines. As the black horse continued its gallop, The World Food Council reported in mid-1987 that 512 million humans were starving and that 40,000 children die of hunger-related causes every day.
22 John has more to tell us: “And I heard a voice as if in the midst of the four living creatures say: ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the olive oil and the wine.’ ” (Revelation 6:6) In John’s time, a quart of wheat was reckoned to be the daily ration for a soldier. How much would such a ration cost? One denarius—a whole day’s wage! (Matthew 20:2) What if a man had a family? Well, he could buy three quarts of unpolished barley instead. Even that would feed only a small family. And barley was not viewed as a quality food such as wheat.
23 What is implied by the statement, “Do not harm the olive oil and the wine”? Some have viewed it as meaning that while many would be short of food and even starving, the luxuries of the rich would not be harmed. But in the Middle East, oil and wine are not really luxuries. In Bible times, bread, oil, and wine were viewed as staples. (Compare Genesis 14:18; Psalm 104:14, 15.) Water was not always good, so wine was widely used for drinking and sometimes for medicinal purposes. (1 Timothy 5:23.) With regard to oil, in Elijah’s day the widow of Zarephath, poor as she was, still had some oil left with which to cook her remaining flour. (1 Kings 17:12) Therefore, the command “do not harm the olive oil and the wine” appears to be advice not to use up these basic commodities too quickly but to be sparing in their use. Otherwise, they will be ‘harmed,’ that is, they will run out before the famine ends.
How happy we can be that the Rider of the white horse will soon rein in that galloping black horse! For it is written concerning His loving provision for the new world: “In his days the righteous one will sprout, and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more. . . . There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.”—Psalm 72:7, 16; see also Isaiah 25:6-8.
The Pale Horse and Its Rider
25 The story is not yet completely told.
26 What new horrors are unleashed, then, as the fourth horseman responds to the call? John tells us: “And I saw, and, look! a pale horse; and the one seated upon it had the name Death. And Hades was closely following him.” (Revelation 6:8.) The rider of the last horse has a name: Death. He is the only one of the four horsemen of Apocalypse to reveal his identity so directly. Fittingly, Death rides a horse that is pale, since the word pale (Greek, khlo·ros′) is used in Greek literature to describe faces that are blanched, as if by disease. Also fittingly, Death is closely followed in some unexplained manner by Hades (gravedom), since Hades receives to itself the greater number of those who fall victim to the ravages of the fourth horseman. Happily, for these there will be a resurrection, when ‘death and Hades give up those dead in them.’ (Revelation 20:13.)
The vision enumerates: “And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:8b.) Not necessarily a literal fourth of earth’s population but a large portion of the earth, whether densely or sparsely inhabited, would be affected by this ride. This horseman reaps the victims of the big sword of the second horseman and the famines and food shortages of the third. He reaps his own harvest, too, from deadly plague and also a harvest from earthquakes, as described at Luke 21:10, 11.
28 Of current importance here is “deadly plague.” Following in the wake of the ravages of World War I, the Spanish flu reaped over 20 million human lives in just a few months of 1918-19. Today there is the frightful incidence of heart disease and cancer, much of which is caused by tobacco pollution. In what has been described as “the ugly decade” of the 1980’s, a way of life that is lawless by Bible standards has added the scourge of AIDS to the “deadly plague.” At the time of this writing, all who contract this disease die, and it is estimated that in the United States alone 300,000 or more will be sick with AIDS by 2003; millions appear to be doomed in Africa.
31 The information revealed by the opening of the first four seals reassures us because it teaches us not to despair at the warfare, hunger, disease, and other causes of untimely death that are so rampant today; neither should we lose hope because human leaders have failed to solve current problems. If world conditions make it evident that the riders of the red, black, and pale horses are abroad, do not forget that the Rider of the white horse was first to begin his ride. Jesus has become King, and he has already conquered to the extent of casting Satan out of the heavens. His further conquests have included his gathering out the remaining ones of the sons of spiritual Israel and the international great crowd, numbering into the millions, for survival through the great tribulation. (Revelation 7:4, 9, 14) His ride must continue until he completes his conquest.
“Granted to Take Peace Away From the Earth”
Where is technology leading? The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, January 22, 1987, reported the following from a speech by Ivan L. Head, president of the International Development Research Centre:
“It is reliably estimated that one out of every four scientists and technologists in the world engaged in research and development is working on weapons. . . . At 1986 rates, the expenditure is more than $1.5-million a minute. . . . Are we all more secure as a result of this kind of technological emphasis? The nuclear arsenals possessed by the superpowers contain the explosive force of all the munitions expended by all the combatants in all of the Second World War—times 6,000. Six thousand Second World Wars. Since 1945, there have been less than seven weeks when the world has been free of military activity. There have been more than 150 wars of an international or a civil nature, which are estimated to have claimed 19.3 million lives, most of them as the result of the efficient new technologies that have emerged in this era of the United Nations.”
Revelation Book -
2006-08-09 13:18:15
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answer #5
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answered by Jeremy Callahan 4
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