REVELATION: JUDGMENT BEGINS

Jonathan Falwell 

The Revelation Series / Revelation 4:1–8:1 (NKJV) 

Over the past two weeks, we’ve started our study of the book of Revelation. The unveiling of God’s plans given to John from the words of Jesus. Let’s take a moment and recap what we’ve seen thus far.

Week 1 – Chapter 1

John sees and hears the vision of Jesus from the Isle of Patmos in about 95 A.D. Jesus begins to unveil His message for the churches and the plans for eternity.

Week 2 – Chapters 2-3

Jesus addresses seven churches before He gives us prophecy. He gives them a performance review by using the format of: Picture, Praise, Problem, Prescription, Prediction and Prize.

Week 3 – Chapters 4-7

Jesus begins to unveil the plan for future events. This vision starts in the Throne Room of God where the Lamb of God is introduced as the only one worthy to reveal God’s plan. As this plan begins to be unveiled, we see the seven seals which describe the times of the tribulation.

Vs 1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

• “Come up here…” – The voice of Jesus speaking to John inviting him into the Throne Room of God.
• We are given a beautiful description of not only what is, but what shall be.

Vs 2a “Instantly, I was in the Spirit”

• Paul also experienced the same phenomenon in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 when he was caught up into the “third heaven” and experienced the presence of God.

AND WHAT DID JOHN SEE?

A. The Trinity

• God sat on the throne

Vs 2b and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 

“Gordon Fee notes that in Exodus 28:17–20 “these are the first and last of the twelve stones mentioned in the description of the breastplate of the high priest” and that “both of them are red” (Revelation, 69).”[1]

• Holy Spirit (7-Fold Spirit of God)

Vs 5b …Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God

Paige Patterson states: “These are to be distinguished from the lamps as they reflected the churches in chaps. 2 and 3 but are like the seven spirits of 1:4 and indeed according to the text are the seven spirits or the Holy Spirit presented in his fullness…the Spirit is clearly in view.”[2]

• Jesus (The Lamb)

Chapter 5:6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth

Kendall Easley states: “Although John had heard about a lion, what he saw instead was a Lamb … standing, obviously very much alive. Surely only under divine inspiration would the conquering, powerful victor of the universe be portrayed as a Lamb…as if it had been slain.”[3]

B. The 24 Elders

Vs 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

• 12 tribes of Israel
• 12 Apostles
• “11 plus Paul”

Harold Willmington states: “Some suggest that the 24 elders, who reappear several times in John’s vision, were angelic beings. Others believe they may have been a representative body of OT and NT saints…This latter view is suggested by the fact that the Greek word for their crowns is stephanos, used elsewhere in the NT to describe the crowns or rewards of victorious believers.”[4]

C. The Four Living Creatures

Vs 6b … And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.

• Angelic creatures (seraphim & cherubim)
• Their eyes convey the image of God’s omniscience

Bob Bonheim states: “…the prophet Ezekiel wrote about his vision for the four besats or as he identified them as the four Cherubs, who were responsible to protect the holiness of God as they were stationed around the throne.”[5]

D. There was nothing but worship!

Vss 9-11 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

What is unmistakably clear is that all—whether elders, angels, lamps, sea of glass, or living creatures—centers on the throne and the one who sits on it, “who lives for ever and ever” [6]Kenneth L. Barker

A. A scroll with seven seals

Vs 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Warren Wiersbe states: “The scroll represents Christ’s “title deed” to all that the Father promised Him because of His sacrifice on the cross.”[7]

Robert Mounce states: “Filled to overflowing and sealed with seven seals to insure the secrecy of its decrees, it contains the full account of what God in his sovereign will has determined as the destiny of the world.”[8]

• The significance of the seven seals leads back to Roman history. In Roman times, a person would create their will and have the executor and five witnesses attest to the will by wrapping a string around the papyrus and then sealing their string with their wax seal. Thus, the “will” would have seven seals.[9]

B. Who is worthy?

Vss 2-4 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.

• No one was worthy because no one who had ever lived was sinless
• But One!

C. Only One Who is worthy!

Vss 5-6  But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Oh, how I wish I could adequately set forth the glory of that One who is worthy to be the object of our worship! [10] – A.W. Tozer

D. The Gold Bowls

Vs 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

• Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice

E. Worthy is the Lamb

Vss 9-12 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

• Represents the 7 years of tribulation which will usher in the Second Coming of Christ
• At this point, the church has been raptured prior to the beginning of the 7-year tribulation period.

Paige Patterson describes the Seals: “the apparent intent of the author is to depict a worsening of the judgments in the progression from chap. 6 and the seals to chaps. 15 and 16, where the bowls of God’s wrath reach the ultimate crescendo of the outpouring of God’s wrath.”[11]

A. First Seal – the White Horse

6:2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer

• the Antichrist marching in to conquer
• “Bow” indicates a weapon of war
• “Crown” indicates an emblem of victory

B. Second Seal – the Red Horse

Vs 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

• This rider came in to remove peace from the earth and bring about great destruction
• This symbolizes the worldwide suffering of war and shedding of blood

C. Third Seal – the Black Horse

Vss 5-6  So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

• This rider announces that famine has arrived, and with it even more destruction and death
• A denarius symbolizes an entire day’s wage meaning it will cost this much for a quart of wheat (quality) or 3 quarts of barley (lower quality)
• “do not harm the oil and wine” indicates a widening gap between the wealthy and the poverty stricken further escalating the violence and destruction

D. Fourth Seal – Pale Green Horse

Vs 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

• Death arrives in monumental scale
• One fourth of the earth is killed
• In today’s terms:
• 8 billion people
• Some estimates state 2.6 billion Christians today
• Meaning: 1.3 billion people dead through violence, war, hunger and even the animals
• Later in Revelation 9:16-18, another 1/3 (another 1.3 billion people) of the earth’s population will be killed.
• This means in the tribulation years, approximately 2.6 billion people will be slaughtered around the globe.

E. Fifth Seal – Cry of the Martyrs

Vss 9-11 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 testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

• These martyrs are those who have come to Christ during the tribulation

The martyrs were bound, imprisoned, scourged, racked, burnt, rent, butchered—and they multiplied.[12] – Augustine of Hippo

F. Sixth Seal – Cosmic Disturbances

Vss 12-17 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Paige Patterson states: “Attempts by some modern interpreters to describe some sort of nuclear warfare producing a cloud that would blacken the sun’s rays and make the moon appear red cannot be dismissed as impossible”[13]

7:1-3 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

• Four angels are restrained
• Don’t harm the earth

• The 144,000

Vs 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed

• 12,000 Jews from the 12 tribes of Israel who are saved during this time
• The twelve tribes omit Dan and Ephraim most likely because of their gross idolatry and rejection of God’s Word. They are replaced by Joseph and Levi.

The number 144,000 is the multiple of the square of twelve (the number of Israel) and the cube of ten (the number of completion). It thus indicates the perfect total of Israel.[14] – Leon Morris

D. A Great Multitude

Vss 9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

• Gentiles saved in the tribulation

Nations,” by the way, does not mean “nations” in the modern sense of nation-states, but something more like “foreigners,” “tribes of people who are not at all like you,” or, to put it succinctly, “Gentiles.”[15]– Thomas Long

Vss 13-14 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

• Seventh Seal – Silence

8:1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

• Announces the arrival of the next set of Judgments

[1] Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 113.

[2] Patterson, Paige. Revelation. Edited by E. Ray Clendenen. Vol. 39. The New American Commentary. Nashville, TN: B&H, 2012.

[3] Easley, Kendell H. Revelation. Vol. 12. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.

[4] Willmington, H. L. Willmington’s Bible Handbook. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997.

[5] Bonheim, Robert, The Revelator. Xulon Press, 2005.

[6] Barker, Kenneth. Expositors’ Bible Commentary, Abridged. Logos.

[7] Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996.

[8] Mounce, Robert. The Book of Revelation. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1997.

[9] https://randolphrichards.com/2016/07/21/a-scroll-with-seven-seals/

[10] Blanchard, John, The Complete Gathered Gold, Evangelical Press, Faverdale North, Darlington, DL3 0PH, England 

[11] Patterson, Paige. Revelation. Edited by E. Ray Clendenen. Vol. 39. The New American Commentary. Nashville, TN: B&H, 2012.

[12] Blanchard, John, The Complete Gathered Gold, Evangelical Press, Faverdale North, Darlington, DL3 0PH, England

[13] Patterson, Paige. Revelation. Edited by E. Ray Clendenen. Vol. 39. The New American Commentary. Nashville, TN: B&H, 2012.

[14] Morris, Leon. Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 20. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987.

[15] Long, Thomas. Feasting on the Word. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 2011.