Revelation 6 explained: Horsemen, Martyrs and a Shaken Sky

The white horse (vv. 1-2)

The Lamb, this book's picture of Jesus, opens the first seal, and a rider with a bow and a victor's wreath rides out to conquer. Many older readers see Christ or his message going out here, while many modern scholars see military conquest, or a false imitation of Christ, because this rider leads a run of disasters.

The red horse (vv. 3-4)

The second rider, on a horse the color of blood, is given a large sword and takes peace from the earth. This pictures war, with people turned to killing each other.

The black horse (vv. 5-6)

The scales mean food is so scarce it is weighed out, and the voice names famine prices: a full day's pay buys one person's daily wheat, or three times as much of the cheaper, coarser barley. Why the oil and wine are spared is unclear; it may mean grain fails while deeper rooted olive trees and vines survive, or that the harm has limits, or that the poor suffer while the rich keep their comforts.

The pale horse (vv. 7-8)

The rider is Death, with Hades, the realm of the dead, close behind, killing by sword, famine, plague and wild animals, the same grim list found in Ezekiel 14:21. Their reach is a quarter of the earth, which is terrible but still limited.

Martyrs under the altar (vv. 9-11)

People killed for holding to God's message appear beneath the altar, where sacrificial blood was poured out in the temple, and they cry, "How long?" asking God to judge and avenge their deaths. They are each given a white robe, a sign of honor and victory, but told to wait until the full number of others like them have also been killed.

The world shaken (vv. 12-17)

The earthquake, black sun, blood red moon and falling stars borrow images that older prophets like Joel and Isaiah used for God's judgment, and readers differ on whether they are literal or picture the whole world order collapsing. Everyone from kings to slaves hides and begs the mountains to fall on them, terrified of "the wrath of the Lamb," a jarring pairing of gentleness and anger.

Key verse: Revelation 6:17

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether these seals describe events of John's own first century world, patterns of suffering that repeat throughout history, or a still future time just before Christ returns, and on whether the white rider is Christ or a conquering power.

Something to think about

When people have been badly wronged, what do you think they most need: justice, rest, being heard, or something else?