A WEDNESDAY NIGHT BOOK STUDY
EDGEMONT BIBLE CHURCH
FALL 2009 - SPRING 2010
JANUARY 06, 2010
THE SCROLL IS OPENED! - Part 1
Revelation Ch 6

I. THE LAMB OPENS THE SCROLL; FIRST SEAL - THE RIDER ON THE
WHITE HORSE - MILITARY CONQUEST…opens the Tribulation period
A. John is invited by one of the four living creatures to come and see the result of opening the Scroll's seals
B. He sees at the opening of the first seal, a White Horse and its Rider
1. He has a bow
2. He is given a crown (stephanos - the victor’s crown, not the diadem of Christ’s rulership)
3. He is going out conquering and to conquer
a. The bow signifies his militaristic foundation and desire
b. His crown is that of a conqueror not a ruler; He is more military than political at this point
c. He is given authority and power to conquer (NOTE: God is the one who gives authority and power to conquer and He does so for His own purposes of which is that nations might seek Him)
4. These are the judgments 0) God against an obstinate and rebellious people who have for generations practiced resisting God. Therefore this seal should be seen as a judgment. Consequently, this
conqueror is not Christ but War and its destruction. (Spirit being??)
5. The rider (and all the riders after this) are not identified as humans…much controversy here from commentaries who identify the rider as both Christ and then Anti-Christ.

II. SECOND SEAL - RED HORSE - AN INFLAMMATORY REMOVAL OF PEACE FROM THE EARTH
A. John is invited by one of the four living creatures to come and see the result of opening Second Seal
B. He sees a red horse and its Rider
1. He is given authority to remove peace from the earth - people become implacable and impossible to entreat
2. Corresponding with this removal is the inflaming of people into a murderous rage - the people go into a rage about the smallest item and seek the death of the object of their rage
3. He is given a great sword
a. The sword signifies the murder he inspires people to commit
b. This rider is Anger and Murder, not just a solitary person

III. THIRD SEAL - BLACK HORSE - SCARCITY ON EARTH ESPECIALLY
IN THE FOOD MARKET
A. John is invited by one of the four living creatures to come and see the result of opening Second Seal
B. He sees a black horse and its rider

1. He has in his hand a pair of scales by means of which he is measuring the cost of the essentials of life
2. It appears that there is a food shortage but plenty of money. We are not told if the food shortage is a result of natural disaster or as a result of the military conquest and/or the continuous enraged killing
3. Obviously, there is a lot of killing and death going on. It is possible that weather conditions have reduced crop production significantly enough for there to be a scarcity but no mention in the context is about weather.
a. It is entirely possible that much of the food production has been transferred to the front lines of the conquering/defending armies of seal one.
b. It is also possible that many of the available field workers are engaged in the war of seal one or have been murdered as a result of seal two. It is conceivable that not enough people are engaged in the production of food to stay up with the demand
c. It is also conceivable that much of the food-producing land has been destroyed by the acts of war. It is also possible that those fields have now become battlefields. It is possible that the potential for the fields to become battlefields that has scared workers for fear, away from working those fields. d. It is also conceivable that the costs of war have made necessary the printing of more unbacked, fiat money creating hyper-inflation. This means that there very well may be enough products but the money is of no value so the price of it has gone up to impossible levels.
e. But it is certain that God has ordained this shortage or inequity of food and resources
f. This rider is Famine, Hyper-Inflation, and the corresponding characteristics, not just a solitary person

IV. FOURTH SEAL - PALE HORSE - DEATH WITH HADES FOLLOWING
A. John is invited by one of the four living creatures to come and see the result of opening the 4th Seal
B. He sees a pale horse and its rider
1. The rider is identified as Death
2. Following him closely is Hades. Hades is the abode of the spirits of the wicked, unbelieving dead. This gives us a picture that most of those dying during this first half of the tribulation are those who have rejected the gospel of the kingdom of Christ Jesus our Lord and the God of the gospel
3. He is authorized and empowered to kill one fourth of earth's population. As an example, just given earth's current population of 5.5 (or 6) billion he is authorized to kill 1.375 billion people! His methods for doing this are:

a. He will use the sword, i.e. war and murder
b. He will use starvation and hunger
c. He will use "natural causes
d. He is authorized to engage the hungry animals in the destruction of their human "masters"
e. 25% of earth's population will be destroyed in this first 3½ years of the Tribulation. Many millions more are to follow

V. FIFTH SEAL - THE VISION OF THE PRAYERS OF THE SOULS OF THE
MARTYRS BENEATH THE ALTAR
A. Since all four creatures have spoken no one speaks this time as John witnesses the opening of the fifth seal
B. He sees the souls of the martyrs who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held
1. These are souls without bodies so they have not experienced the resurrection yet. How does one see a soul without a body? They are
beneath the altar of God so they are in His presence even though obviously they have been murdered.
2. They have been martyred so they were killed by the forces of Anti-Christ during the first half of the Tribulation
3. It may be that these are Christians who have been murdered or martyred since Jesus left the earth at His ascension but they should
have been resurrected before this time if the rapture occurred before the Tribulation.
4. They are engaged in prayer to God for vengeance for their lives
5. God's response to their prayer is to urge them to wait a little longer until the rest of the martyrs were martyred
a. A white robe is given to each of them
b. Does this robe mean that they were given bodies upon which to hang those robes?
Supporting scriptures: 2 Thess 1; 2 Pet 3; and Genesis during the time of Noah

VI. SIXTH SEAL –THE VISION OF THE SHAKE UP OF HEAVEN AND
EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT
A. As with the previous seal, no one speaks this time as John witnesses the opening of the sixth seal
B. He sees a great earthquake shake up some unidentified portion of the earth.
C. He sees the sun become black as sackcloth
D. He sees the moon become like blood
E. He sees the stars of heaven fall to the earth like figs falling off a fig tree in a strong wind
F. He sees the sky roll back like a scroll, no doubt revealing the scene of the Throne Room of God
G. He sees the reaction of every kind of man left living on the earth hiding in every cave and under every rock they could find to avoid the presence and the sight of the One who has revealed Himself in Heaven - the Lord God Almighty, Ruler of Heaven and Earth!
H. He hears them cry out to the mountains and the rocks …unbelievers

1. They seek for the mountains and the rocks to fall on them and hide them from face of Him who sits on the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. They are aware of why these things are happening; they are not ignorant; they are willful rejecters of Christ who know the penalty on their unbelief and disobedience
2. They are totally devoid of repentance and have rejected faith. Since they have been serving the creature rather than the Creator, their prayer is to the creature (creation) instead of to God.
3. They are of full understanding that the long prophesied, long dreaded, long spoken of, great day of His wrath has come. They have scoffed at those who have believed it for centuries. Their words have been harsh and they have ridiculed those who believed it, even persecuted them and killed them. Now they know, as they have known, that it is upon them and they are without hope and answer. They know no one can stand before the wrath of God!

MORE TO COME ON THE WRATH COMING FROM THE
OPENING OF THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH SEALS IN
THE WEEKS AHEAD! ARE YOU PREPARED TO
MEET YOUR CREATOR WITH THE ANSWER OF FAITH???