John's vision continues in the throne room of heaven. Father God is seated on the throne and the Lamb is standing in the midst of it (Revelation 5:6). He has just taken the scroll which describes history-to-come, from the Father's right hand.
As each seal is broken, so a part of the scroll is unrolled to be revealed. The Lamb is worthy to break the seals and, as He does so, the drama of that part of history-to-come is acted out in John's vision. The narrative under the first seal is shown as a white horse and warmongering rider bent on conquest.
So far, as the Lamb has opened the seals, John sees a drama in his vision representing the narrative of the part of the scroll that is uncovered. The first scene was of an impostor-saviour who is determined to conquer the world. The second scene is of global conflict in which peace is destroyed and nations rise against each other in barbarous warmongering. The third seal is different. As before, one of the seraphs ordered another horse to gallop into view: but this time the animal is black. Its rider holds a pair of weighing scales like a merchant in the market.
The three opened seals have so far revealed that there will be trouble for the world and the church from anti-Christ authorities with ambitions of global domination, warmongering leaders intent on disturbing local and global peaceful relationships and inciting groups of people to butcher each other, and economic uncertainty with inflation and high food prices. The fourth seal, when broken, led to a fourth seraph calling another drama onto the stage of John's vision. It reeked of death.
When the first four seals were broken open by the Lamb, each of the four living creatures, God's herald-seraphs, announced the entrance of a coloured horse into John's vision. Now the drama, which describes the narrative under the fifth seal, is released without any further introduction. The four horsemen of the apocalypse have shown God's judgement sweeping out onto a rebellious world, like the horsemen of Zechariah 6:1-8.
As the Lamb opened the sixth seal, John saw the drama which was described in the scroll. The scale of the vision seems to have stretched his ability to write what he saw. A massive earthquake coincided with dense darkness as the earth's atmosphere was laden with particles and the moon appeared red (Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20).
This part of Revelation has intrigued many people, and a variety of different interpretations have been constructed to fit in with different systematic views of the book. We will look at the text as it stands. Let us remind ourselves that the vision was given to John by Jesus Christ, who, in Revelation 5:6, is seen as a Lamb standing in the middle of the throne in heaven. The Lamb is breaking open the seals of a scroll, and the vision dramatizes the writing under each seal.
The scene, in John's vision, is still set in the throne room of heaven. God is seated on the throne (Revelation 5:1) and the Lamb, looking as if it had been ritually sacrificed, was standing alive in the middle of the throne (Revelation 6:5).
John was greatly awed by the vision that Jesus showed him. In the centre was the throne with Father God seated and the Lamb of God standing, surrounded by all the angels (Revelation 5:11) – a huge number of divine servants. With them are the four seraphs which guard the throne and lead worship; and the representatives of all God's people. The scene is set for worship. Their posture changes.
In John's vision, given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ, the suffering church is seen around the throne in heaven, worshipping Father God and the Lamb of God. They are described as those who, "… have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14) Their suffering is over, their courageous stand is vindicated, their enemies cannot touch them.
